The Tiny Series 2: A Boy Called Shadow
by CynderBlue
Summary: Darren drove the gods away for a steep price. Now he will deal with finally merged powers and the headaches that come with them, Mr. Tiny who hasn't gone through punishment and a new threat that endangers magic itself. Darren will have to create a new identity for himself and outwit two of the most powerful people on the planet. But who is really outsmarting who?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cirque Du Freak. (This counts for the entire story)**

**A.N.  
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**If you haven't read the first story: s/10223546/1/The-Tiny-Series-1-Destiny-Rejected Then I suggest you go read that first. **

**I am going to answer more reviews now, so throw questions at me! But I won't answer them if they spoil the story ;)  
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**Deathbright: **Thank you! Your review made my day :3 I hope you like the sequel just as much.**  
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**Obviouslyincognito: **I was sad to kill off Larten again too. But it had to be done. Vampire Mountain will be awesome lol.

**Guest: **One God came down to deal with Darren and the Cirque. There are multiple gods and most of them are not very pleasant but one or two have different views on things.

**Ansy:** Even though the gods act like they make up the rules, magic has it's own laws. And they are set in the very fabric of magic. There was a loophole that allowed Darren to erase his friends memories and the gods can't touch them due to that. It is a law that only the gods have to follow.

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><p>The harsh smell of antiseptic invaded my nostrils, making them twitch. In the next moment I came alive, twisting in the metal bands encircling my torso, ankles and wrists until my hand bloodied. I lay on a cold, metal slab of steel in a room with no doors and mirrors surrounding me on all sides. I was naked and an IV came out from the back of my left hand; I tried to stretch and bite it out but the cuffs were too tight. The next horrible thing came with the realization I had wings still. And they were pulled uncomfortably taut on two stands on either side of the metal table.<p>

"Subject #2. Male, species unknown, age unknown." a brisk female voice said from somewhere over my shoulder. She was in a different room and I guessed she and another person were standing behind the one way mirror. Her voice was indifferent, even robotic. "On a strict IV regime. Past history shows signs of aggressiveness and his power levels are off the charts."

A strong scent of aftershave came through a gap in the wall and its male owner responded. "Let me in." His tone was dripping with greed. I could hear him shifting something in his grip and then the door clicked open. He entered behind me and I didn't bother to try and twist around to see the man. Instead I inhaled and gathered as much information as I could before he came face to face with me. Male. Mid forties to early fifties. Well groomed with expensive hair products. Terminally ill. I paused and sniffed again. _Cancer_. I wasn't good enough yet to tell what kind but I knew that the man had months at best. I wasn't trying to reach for my magic. I could feel the dragon dozing on the skin of my stomach and guessed the IV drugs were to keep my magic still.

"What is your name?" The man sounded kind enough, but his eyes betrayed him. He was like the Mr. Tiny I had known before and the resemblance was creepy. I had just enough magic to know that he definitely wasn't Mr. Tiny in disguise, but if I didn't know better I would have said they were brothers.

I scrambled for a possible answer, and then settled on one that had the least number of flaws. For now I would cooperate with the idiot. "I don't know." My name was of no importance to him.

The man grabbed a fist full of my hair and raised my head up before slamming it onto the table. My jaw crunched and I saw stars before he let go. "I will only ask one more time. What is your name?" His voice was smooth as silk and very sad; as if I was making him do this to me. Again my head was raised up and slammed back down and I tasted blood on my tongue. Disturbingly it tasted good; but since it had been who knows how long since I had last drunk, anything would be nice.

"I can't remember!" I hissed and adopted a panicked expression. "Listen I don't want to hurt anyone. I think there was an accident. I don't know who you are or what you want but I haven't done anything!"

The man stepped back and smoothed down his silk suit, pacing back and forth. He looked undecided and then nodded to the mirrors. The woman entered with a cup of water and he took it; pouring the delicious cold liquid into my mouth. Some trickled down my chin and dripped onto the metal, sliding to where the cuffs met table. The second the water met my skin the dragon twitched its tail and I shuddered along with it. My bond with water had strengthened it seemed; enough to overcome man made drugs.

"My name is Harrison," the man said and pulled the cup away only when I had drained it. The pulse beating in his neck was steady and I imagined sinking my fangs into it and draining the man dry. My stomach rumbled.

"Nice to meet you," I said sarcastically. The water pulled into my skin and I flexed my hands in the cuffs, testing the metal gingerly. The dragon raised his blue head and crept forward a few inches, testing the air with his tongue. My wings shivered in the bonds and I flexed them slightly, surprised at the amount of magical residue that existed in them.

Harrison slowly reached into his silk pocket and pulled out an ornate dagger, striding over to me. He rested the blade on my cheek, gently flicking my ear with the tip and smiled; exposing two rows of perfect teeth. "You will tell me everything you know about Vampires." His face was twisted into a furious, demanding, needy expression and I almost, _almost _pitied him.

"I told you I-"

"Oh, maybe you are telling me the truth…" Harrison purred and twisted the knife again, resting it at the base of my throat. "But pain can be an excellent stimulant for the brain. Perhaps you will remember. Or maybe you won't and your body will be the next I throw away."

With a furious yell I yanked on the cuffs and tore them free with a sickening sound of grinding metal. I couldn't free my legs but I reached out and wrapped my hands around Harrison's throat and squeezed. His face quickly turned purple but the madman raised his hand calmly and the dripping sound from the IV quickened until it was faster then a ticking clock. The world blurred and my hands relaxed. They thudded back down and I blinked fuzzily.

"They told me you responded when given water," Harrison commented, rubbing at his bruised throat. "But seeing the results in person are much more informative." He raised his hand again after wiping away the excess water and the IV drip slowed. "I don't want you to be a drooling idiot during questioning," he explained, as if I cared to know. "Perhaps we can become friends. Your power greatly interests me and I would be happy to help you in anything you desire," his face hardened. "If you cooperate."

I bared my fangs and looked up at him with ice blue eyes. "I will rip you apart and string your guts across the countryside."

Besides a slight spike of anger in his scent Harrison showed no outward signs of anger; he rolled up his sleeves and rubbed his hands together. He picked the dagger up off the floor where it had fallen in my bid for freedom and studied the blade tenderly. "How did you fly?" He mused, leaving my field of view to study my wings. "Your flight feathers aren't even fully grown yet." The dagger trailed over my wings and I stiffened, trying to arch away from Harrison fruitlessly.

I could have told Harrison that sheer magic had held me up, but decided that he wasn't worth any scrap of information. Besides I was keeping up the pretense of having no memory. Another idea came to me and I smiled inwardly. "Listen to me," I said carefully, putting as much helpless fear into my voice as I could. "I don't know what's happened. I think I am a monster."

The dagger paused and for a moment I thought I had gotten through to him but then Harrison leaned over and his stinky breath filled my nose as he whispered into my ear. "That's right. You're a monster. My pet monster." His chuckle wasn't at all pleasant. "Drop the act boy," he sneered. "I can see the sheer power in your eyes and your urge to kill. You are the perfect predator, even if you don't realize it yourself." Then to my astonishment he reached over and unscrewed the bonds, allowing me complete freedom. He unlatched my wings from the stands and grabbed a shabby outfit for me to wear before helping me out of the room and down a dim hallway. He pulled the IV stand along with one hand, tapping his hand on my shoulder blade in time with the drugs flowing into my veins.

We passed hardly anyone in the hallway and those we did quickly adopted submissive expressions upon seeing Harrison. But when they looked at me their faces went curiously blank and I couldn't get any reading off them besides respect and slight fear. I could feel the water flowing in pipes in the walls, but while I was drugged there was no hope of bursting the pipes and escaping. I hardly had the energy to stand upright as it was and the dragon slept on.

Harrison pushed open a set of double doors and I blinked in the sudden light. We stood in a huge dome, at least half a mile long and the inside was made up to look like a wilderness. Trees stretched up to the glass roof where I could see electricity sparking along an intricate network of wires along the ceiling and walls. The only exception was the doors but they were steel with key pads. Animals slunk along the forest floor; I could see a raccoon, deer and even a wolf. All of them wore thin metal bands around their necks. "It pleases you, I can tell," Harrison said and nodded to my wings which were fluttering lightly even in the still air.

I narrowed my eyes. It did please me, but probably not for the reasons Harrison was thinking. Bringing me to a big open space such as this, with water and enough room to fly was idiotic. One way or another I would find a chink in their armor and use it.

The IV was abruptly pulled out and Harrison let me fall to the ground. I stared up at him as four heavily muscled men and one woman marched toward me. They stepped on my wings and I howled at them, but a knee was pushed into my chest and I shut up before I was badly injured. The woman crouched over me and pulled out a collar similar to the ones the animals wore. But this one was thicker and had a red number two engraved in the side. A set of wires, a needle and small container of liquid was inside and it was clear it was designed to go into my neck. A thick substance dripped from it, in the consistency of honey.

Harrison appeared over one mans shoulder and peered down at me. "You won't feel the needle. The numbing agent takes care of that. The medicine is a concentrated version of what I've been giving you. Only one drop an hour and you will have complete movement," his face twisted into a mocking grin. "Without the strength and power you normally possess of course." He held up a remote control with a small dial on the front. "If you do not come when I call I will electrocute you, which would be very painful." He thumbed the dial and sighed. "If I am forced to turn the dial all the way it will knock you out and I will be very angry."

I glared hatefully but still couldn't muster enough strength to move.

"Put it on him," Harrison ordered.

The metal collar was lowered toward my throat and along with it three sets of hands. One pair around my head to keep me still and the other two to guide the needle in and snap the collar shut. True to his word, Harrison was right. I did not feel the needle. The collar was cold and tight enough that I panicked for before figuring out I could breathe properly. The collar clicked shut and I lunged at the woman, closing my hands around her arm before she could jump backward and sank my fangs into her wrist. Hot blood poured into my mouth and I gulped down several swallows before the other men pulled me backward and threw me to the ground. I stared up at them challengingly, blood from my fangs and fear scent poured off their bodies.

"Add blood to his diet," Harrison said carelessly and snapped the woman cradling her bleeding wrist. "Go clean yourself up and stop sniveling!" He turned back to me and with one hand pulled me upright. I swayed slightly, but already the drugs previous effects were fading. The world wasn't spinning anymore and I could move relatively steady. "Now spread those wings little dragon." He stepped back, clearly waiting for something.

I stared and then growled under my breath. He wanted me unfold my wings and walk off with the collar around my throat like a wounded animal. I gave Harrison a contemptuous glance and kept my wings deliberately folded before stalking off into the long grass. My collar suddenly lit up and I was down on the ground. The shocking pain had only been for a split second but it was enough to knock the breath out of my body. When I could sit up Harrison was gone, the metal door swinging shut behind him.

Hours later with every inch of the dome explored and mapped out I knew enough about the place for a lifetime. A creek meandered through the dome, going out one side and coming in through the other. The entire place was forest except for the small clearing where Harrison had brought me in. The other animals steered well clear of me but I caught several glimpses of the wolf through the trees before it ran away. The air was cool and fresh and I found several powerful fans in the walls that kept the air moving. I'd climbed the tallest tree early on and managed to get a good look at outside the dome. Wherever we were it was in a desert and the place was a huge network of smaller tunnels, domes and windowless stone buildings not connected to anything. People had been running back and forth from building to building and inside tunnels through doors too tiny to see without magic.

For the first hour I'd let anger rule me and I had torn through the forest with fury, tearing apart plants and gouging trees. Drugs couldn't steal the long nails a vampire naturally had. But after my initial anger I settled down and began to plan. I would have to memorize schedules: feeding time, and if Harrison's calls had any natural pattern. I had already identified two weak spots in the dome; the electrified ceiling and the steel doors. If I got my powers back, even a little bit either option would fall. Strength would take care of the doors. But the ceiling was preferable. If I used a little magic to lift the water in the creek up I could short out the wires, smash through the bullet proof glass and fly away. But first my flight feathers would have to finish growing. The third option I barely considered was to somehow let Mr. Tiny know I was here; but that was next to impossible unless I got magic back and roared. But I wouldn't waste time on that when I could just simply escape and I had no way of knowing if Mr. Tiny would kill me on sight.

I settled on the tallest tree overlooking the clearing, preparing for a vigil to last well into the night. The collar itched but I ignored it, fixing my glowing blue eyes on the steel door. "You have no idea what you're getting into Harrison," I purred and wrapped my wings around myself as the dome cooled down. Below the she-wolf curled into a small ball, her green eyes looking up at me with curiosity.

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><p><strong>R&amp;R Please? *passes out cake*<strong>


	2. Chapter 2- Desperate Times

**A.N.**

**Deathbright**: The actual size will be revealed in the next chapter. The size kept changing before because he was still "merging" now it has settled.

**obviouslyincognito: **There will be some old characters for sure! As for Darren and Mr. Tiny it says in book #12 that Mr. Tiny would never harm his flesh and blood, so Darren has that. But Mr. Tiny did say he could make their lives difficult lol But also Mr. Tiny likes complicated things and since Darren is supposed to be dead that might be enough of a puzzle to keep him "happy"...maybe.

**Ansy:** lol! I'm glad you enjoyed the cake.

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><p>I crouched on one knee in front of Harrison, looking up at him through my bangs while silently cursing the man to hell. This was the eleventh time in two days he had called me and each time I debated not answering; but the cons of not obeying the call were far too many. Each time I walked into the clearing or jumped from a tree Harrison smirked in satisfaction. This time he let me stay poised below him for far too long before finally gesturing for me to get up. He circled me three times, running a finger down my still growing flight feathers. The touch made me shudder and I subtly twitched away. I was waiting for the questions and certain pain Harrison had promised, but so far he was doing nothing but examining me multiple times a day. The fifth time he'd called he had laughed at me coming out of the trees drenched from the creek. I had foolishly thought that the water was clear and as a result bathed in the concentrated drugs, swallowing plenty of it before hauling myself out of the water. I'd nearly drowned and that disturbed me.<p>

"Who is Subject number 1?" I questioned.

"What makes you think there is another?" Harrison responded. He was in a usually good mood this morning. One of his hands shot up and forced my head down as he examined the drugs remaining in my collar.

"I am number 2, its simple math to think there is a number 1," I said somewhat defiantly.

Harrison shook his head and put his thumb on the dial. "Tut, tut," he said. "You were getting so good." The dial was twisted to number three and I screamed, hands flying up as if I could rip the collar off. I stayed standing however, refusing to fall as electricity coursed up and down my spine, making my arms and legs jerk. The dial moved again to five which was the furthest it had ever gone and I finally went down, thrashing in the dirt. Harrison switched the dial off and pursed his lips. "You are right. There is a number 1." He sat beside me and wiped drool off my chin. "He looks a bit like Frankenstein's monster, but much shorter," he wrinkled his noise. "If you can even call it a he."

I twitched violently, managing to force out another question. "Does he speak?" My words hung in the air and I waited for Harrisons response. A Little Person was here. I would have laughed if the pain had been a little less. Mr. Tiny did not tolerate anybody harming his Little People.

"Yes," Harrison said distastefully. "But he utters little more then curse words." His gaze sharpened. "Why do you ask?" Before he even reached for the dial in his pocket I was speaking, eager to avoid another round of pain.

"Frankenstein's monster had a maker," I rasped. "Don't you think subject number one's creator will be angry you took him away?"

Harrison grabbed the front of my red shirt and held my head up. "Do you remember something?" He hissed.

I let my eyes glaze over as if the electricity had taken my senses. "You have no idea what's coming," I said.

"Enlighten me," Harrison spat.

I cleared my expression and met my captors gaze. "A dragon." I laughed loudly, letting spit fly and my eyes rolled. "He will burn you to the ground!" My hand came up and clasped around Harrison's forearm. "You'd better run while you still can," I said ominously. My eyes rolled back and I went limp, pretending to faint. The scents coming off Harrison were different then any I'd gotten from him before. They were gratifying. Doubt, wariness and a poorly hidden twinge of fear. Harrison released me and my head thumped to the ground. The man stood up and stalked away through the steel doors and I lay on the ground, suffering through the last side effects of being repeatedly electrocuted. I rolled over slowly and forced my protesting muscles to carry me through the tall grass. Each foot felt like miles but I kept on until I was out of sight of the door.

Harkat was captive too and I wondered if there were still more besides him and I. How many others were being forced into experiments? That's all this place was. I was in a giant testing chamber, being watched and catalogued. Every movement went into a folder and then onto graphs. I had already been too predictable, making my rounds every hour. If I wanted to get out of here I had to be erratic.

I waited until the electricity twitching faded completely and then got up. I sat cross legged in front of a tree and watched as the she-wolf melted out of the trees to watch me. The wolf was the one thing I could not work out in the dome. The collar looked exactly the same as mine, but I couldn't tell if there were drugs inside. I doubted they would need to drug a wolf anyway. The she-wolf was suspicious and never let me get very close, but she was always around and normally after Harrison and I met would appear from whatever secret spot she'd found to sit with me until the pain was gone.

"Hello," I said to the wolf and kept my movements slow when I stretched out my legs, wincing as cramped muscles pulled. "Harrison was mad this morning. It was stupid to think he was in a better mood."

The wolf whined and pawed the ground. Her scent was agitated, more so then it normally was.

"I found out there is at least one other captive here," I said, idly fingering the collar. Then I froze and mentally smacked myself on the forehead. "They made a mistake," I whispered to the wolf and she crept a little closer, tail swaying from side to side. "My wings, eyes and fangs are a part of me now. It's not magic to have them." I grinned mischievously. "But having hyper senses is magic." I leaned forward and the wolf did too, until our noses almost touched. "I can smell emotions and hear things no vampire can. They made a mistake!" I threw my hands into the air, which made the she-wolf startle backwards. "They made a mistake!" I tugged on the collar. "Somewhere in that drug they missed something." I looked at my hands and leaned back against the tree, reaching for the magic. It slipped through my fingers like always and I huffed.

"How long do you think we have until Frankenstein's creator comes?" I wondered out loud. I was sure there were cameras all over the place and I could not loose the pretense of having little to no memory.

The wolf suddenly stood up straight and her eyes brightened. For the first time the wolf looked almost cheerful and she bounded off into the trees, leaving me even more confused. But inside I echoed the wolf. I had something to use against Harrison; his fear of the unknown. I would keep feeding him what I could about Mr. Tiny until he cowered. I grinned and climbed up into a tree, intending to catch a good night sleep.

I only slept a few hours, hanging over a branch in the tallest tree which had quickly become my base of sorts. When I awoke the moon was high in the sky. It was a three-quarter moon, just a sliver before it was full. I wondered what had woken me up and touched the collar. Whenever Harrison called he always shocked me but there was no lingering pain so I knew that wasn't it. I looked around, brushing aside the smaller branches and saw what had woken me up. A small patrol of men were coming through the woods, carrying nets and a stretcher. They disappeared through the trees and I heard the she-wolf let out a whine of pain. I almost went down to the ground but before I moved the men reappeared; the wolf was stretched out on the stretcher. A line of dried blood stained her flank and her eyes were dull.

The patrol went through the steel door and I sat back on my heels. The she-wolf's injuries had been at least an hour old. Where ever the men had taken her, it was probably to be healed. I smiled calculatingly then groaned. If I wanted to be taken out I would have to actually hurt myself. I looked at the ground and then up at the dome ceiling. I wanted to do something that would look horrible but I could recover from relatively quickly and it had to look like a complete accident to the on looking cameras.

"Come on…" I muttered and licked my lips nervously. "Think." I looked at the ceiling again and winced and began to climb. My hands were sweaty and I slipped several times, nearly falling to the ground. That would have done enough damage, but I would rather be able to walk in a few hours. When I reached the top, close enough to reach out and touch the glass and electrified metal blocking it I pretended to loose complete control. I shouted at the moon and slammed my palms against the metal; shocks went up my spine but I latched onto the wire and curled my hands around it. Pain like nothing Harrison had done shot into my head and I screamed. My body jerked and I found I couldn't let go of the wire. My shirt began to smoke and then the wire broke under my fingertips; I plummeted down and bounced off one, two branches before slamming to a stop halfway down. My wings curled around me, singed and I blinked before going limp over the branch. Bit by bit I let my body slide where it was hung over and barely a minute passed before the metal door slammed open.

The men climbed up the tree and lowered me down and put me onto the stretcher none too gently. We marched toward the steel door and my lips curled upward even as I shook frenziedly. When the door opened I saw Harrison through half open eyes. He was standing outside dressed in a night robe. He took a cursory glance at me and scowled. "What happened?" He demanded.

"He went crazy sir," one of the men in front said. "Grabbed the wires up top and nearly killed himself."

Harrison bent down over the stretcher and touched my burnt wings. His eyes were hard and over the smell of burnt feathers I could scent him trying to work out what I was doing. "You aren't stupid enough to do this for no reason," he said. When I did nothing but shake he frowned. "Or maybe the drugs are having unpredicted side effects." He stood up and addressed a woman that had come up behind me. It was the same woman I had bitten. "Lower the dosage."

"Sir, that would too high of a risk. He is already near the minimum dosage. To take away even more-"  
>"Silence!" Harrison barked. "I will not allow him to die when I am this close to unlocking everything!" His eyes went over me again and then he scowled. "Take him to the infirmary. Lock the entire thing down and put an IV in. I want him well in two days for questioning."<p>

"What about subject one and ten?"

"Leave them there. Prevent them from interacting," Harrison said simply and strode away into a side tunnel.

The stretcher started to move and I closed my eyes, committing the twists and turns to memory. I could hear the gurgle of water in pipes deep in the walls and cracked open an eyelid to see with some surprise that not all of the walls were finished. In some places the pipes were completely exposed, except for torn canvas clumsily put up with nails. In fact the entire main tunnel was not complete except for the floor which looked cleaner then anything else in the place. The tiles were so clean I could almost make out the reflections of the men carrying the stretcher in them when I turned my head.

We turned down another tunnel that was so small my wingtips brushed against them even though they were mostly folded. Outstretched my wings were about fifteen feet across. Two sets of wooden doors and then we were in a pristine white room with beds lining the walls. It would looked like a normal hospital room; if it wasn't for the straps hanging from each of the beds and the nurses who wore bullet proof vests and had cattle prods strapped to their belts. Only two beds were filled at the other end of the room; one with a young woman. She was screaming as she tried to fight the strait jacket she was tied in. An IV line came out of her neck. When she saw me her body stilled and she tilted her head.

"The moon has that one," one of the men muttered and they all laughed.

Harkat was in the bed across from the one they carried me to. Bandages covered his arms and legs and blood dotted his clothing. One eye was swollen shut but when he saw me his expression mellowed from enraged to horrified then excited. His mouth opened and I willed him not to reveal he knew me. Wisely his mouth shut, but his eyes glittered. He was wearing lots of ropes to keep him still but no IV came out of his neck.

"Put him in on high security," the men ordered the nurses and they put me onto the bed. Straps wrapped around my ankles, knees, thighs, waist and wrists. They removed the collar but immediately put an IV in. "Lowest dosage possible." The stretcher and men left immediately and the nurses went to work.

I lay passive but eyed the nurses while running my tongue over my fangs. They put another IV bag up and the line went into the back of my hand; whatever the medicine was it stopped my shaking but left me feeling like I would float away. The nurses left to station themselves by the other door and I looked back at Harkat. Now that I had more time to look at him better, I saw that he looked downright horrible. His arms were dotted with half healed wounds, all running where his stitches were. Then I noticed that the thread holding him together was different on that arm. My stomach rolled when I figured out what must have happened. They'd taken out whatever Mr. Tiny used to make his Little People and replaced it with common string. I hoped Harkat had been unconscious when it happened.

Harkat gave me the same once over and his eyes kept going back to my fangs, wings and eyes. One of his eyebrows rose up but he said nothing. His eyes were shining with more hope then I'd seen when I came in. I offered him a slow wink and the Little Person winked back. It hurt but I knew to keep Mr. Tiny's fury to a minimum even my friends would have to be fooled into thinking I knew nothing. I leaned back into the hospital bed and watched Harkat who seemed to be waiting for something. The ticking of a clock from somewhere in the distance was distracting and my hands tapped on the bed. When the clock struck ten I let myself fall into an uneasy sleep, awakening often when the nurses changed shifts.

At five in the morning I woke up completely to the sound of Harkat screaming. Nurses were crowded around his bed, holding his head still as they plucked at his other arm where Mr. Tinys' thread was still intact. I thrashed my head and screamed too; a howl that let some of the dragon out. The low growl swept through the hospital, and all the nurses paused. "Touch him again," I hissed. "I dare you." The beds began to rattle and I forced the magic to come to me. I couldn't quite grasp it enough to free myself but the depth of my fury could be conveyed. When the beds began to lift off the floor the nurses scowled and two stalked over to me, unsheathing their cattle prods. One prod was thrust at my chest and I shook, back arching. My lips remained closed; I would not scream and give them the satisfaction.

"I wouldn't do that," Harkat said through gritted teeth.

The nurses sneered and doubled the pressure on my chest. The shocking was enough to jar loose the little hold I had on the magic and the beds stilled completely.

"He is in here for nearly killing himself with electricity. Harrison wants him healed soon and I don't think you are helping."

Finally the agonizing pain stopped and the nurses left to once again stand by the door, abandoning Harkat too. A single tear ran down my cheek and tied down as I was I could not wipe it away. Harkat met my eyes and I could see the fresh pain and horror in his gaze too. I wondered how Harkat knew what I'd done, but had no energy to question it. Every day spent here was slowly sapping my energy. I had to make a move in the next two or three days, otherwise I might never get out.

"He is coming," Harkat said.

"Who?" I asked.

Harkat pursed his lips and said innocently. "The Dragon Master." I could tell he wanted to ask what had happened with my voice and the beds but he too seemed to have little strength for pointless questions.

"What?" I said again.

But Harkat didn't reply. He rattled the sides of his bed and shouted manically at the nurses. "DO YOU HEAR ME? HE IS COMING!" Spit flew from his mouth and the nurses turned away from him. "HE WILL BURN YOU ALL! YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS! NONE OF YOU!"

I closed my eyes, sinking into the darkness that was riddled with Harkats insane cries. I would rest, gather my strength and take back my freedom along with Harkats. I imagined tearing into the nurses and scattering their bodies before Harrison and doing the exact same thing to him, but much, much slower.

My lips curled upward and the dragon stretched. '_Soon'_ I promised it and remembering Steve's words echoed him. '_Soon there will be bloody, bloody chaos_.'

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><p><strong>R&amp;R please? *throws candy bars*<strong>


	3. Chapter 3- The Shadow In His Heart

**A.N. I know I said the size of Darrens dragon would be told this chapter, but it didn't work out that way. In the next one or two chapters it will be revealed I promise!**

**obviouslyincognito:** They will probably pop up at some point. I haven't decided if they will play a big or small role yet though.

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><p>The distinct sound of Harrisons footsteps marching up the hospital floor was enough to rouse me from a very unsatisfying sleep. Harkat hadn't paused in his screams for more then three hours and while I had succeeded in driving the nurses off both of us, they kept giving me gleeful looks that I didn't like. Harrison stopped at the foot of my bed and conferred with the nurses who looked unhappy but gave me a clean bill of health. I didn't feel healthy. I had lost too much weight and every time the nurses went for their cattle prods, even though I knew they wouldn't use them I flinched.<p>

Harrison undid the bonds, allowing me to stand. I was wobbly at first but quickly regained my footing. He pinched something in my collar and removed the IV in my hand. "The nurses told me about your little stunt with the beds," Harrison said, his face mask like. "We are keeping you on the lower dosage still, however there will be consequences."

I exchanged a worried look with Harkat before Harrison grabbed me by the elbow and led me away. We went back down the half made tunnels and I debated lunging for the water pipes, but seeing Harrison's hand already on the dial in his pocket made me keep going straight. I could smell anticipation rolling off Harrison and it made me sick. "Why did you do that to Subject One?" I asked coldly.

"Silence," Harrison barked. The veins in his neck were popping out and my stomach growled. The nurses hadn't given me blood while I was in there and it was getting harder and harder not to lunge at Harrison, even if I knew what the punishment would be. "I am very disappointed in you Subject Two." He smirked. "But thanks to both you and Subject One, I know that whoever created Subject One must be connected to both of you."

"All I know is he will destroy this place," I said. "Nothing but rubble will be left." I needed to scare Harrison and remind him of what exactly he had in a collar, but I had to wait for the perfect moment.

We turned down a new tunnel that was much smaller and darker then the others. My wings were crunched uncomfortably at my side and Harrison kept me from folding them. By the time we reached the end of it, several feathers were bent. Harrison shoved me in and I blinked until my eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was a windowless cement cell with nothing inside but a filthy blanket, a small hole in the floor and two bowls. The door was painted dark green, but chipping paint revealed the metal underneath. A slat in the door would let anyone look inside and a flap on the bottom let things be set inside.

"These will be your new quarters," Harrison said and smiled. "But first." He dragged me out of the cell and hauled me into the room next door. I tried to run but my drugged body was locked in cuffs on the wall before I took a step. My ankles were next and my body hung uncomfortably. My feet didn't touch the floor and my weight hung heavily on my shoulders. Harrison clipped my wings to a different set of straps, stretching them so far out I groaned in pain. "You were going to be my masterpiece," Harrison said and rolled up his sleeves. "The perfect predator, trained in combat and assassination. You would have rid the world of the filth." He pursed his lips. "I thought that the dragon in you would have brought out the monster, but I was wrong." Harrison sighed woefully and leaned in close, going on tiptoes to whisper in my ear. "I will break your body and mind and then rebuild you."

I twisted in the cuffs, snarling. "You can't break a dragon," My eyes flashed. "They only get angrier."

Harrison laughed and revealed the inside of his jacket. Various knives and devices were strapped to the silk. He pulled out a long dagger, similar to the one he had greeted me with and sliced off my shirt. "Perhaps," he said and smirked. "But I know you are very young. If I had an old one maybe then I would not succeed. But you feel more then the others. Love, sorrow," the knife cut into my skin, trailing a bloody line down my side and I clamped my lips together. "Pain."

I bared my fangs and growled but Harrison quickly sliced a new cut down my shoulder and the sound turned into a muffled grunt. I would not give him the satisfaction of screaming. As my blood trickled down my stomach Harrison grabbed a small vial and pressed it against my skin. My blood dripped into the container and when it was only half full Harrison pulled it away and capped the vial.

"Does it bother you to be used like this?" Harrison asked and deftly twisted the knife.

I arched and banged my head against the wall. "Go to hell," I snapped.

Harrison smiled. "Defiance will get you nowhere."

The blade danced across my skin, drawing blood wherever it went. Throughout it all I stared at Harrison, my eyes boring into his skull. The veins in his neck pulsed steadily and I licked my lips. The bloodlust was very distracting and with the smell of my blood in the air it was enough to drown out the pain.

Harrison stopped only a few minutes later and got out a towel. He wiped the blood off my body and quirked his lips. "Are you ready to talk?" He asked.

"_Come here_…" I whispered invitingly. My head was tilted slightly, eyes glazed over with hunger. My words had taken on a different tone, and they hung in the air, resonating with power.

My prey took one step forward and then another. His head reached up toward mine and I shuddered when his jugular came almost within biting reach. "_Let me tell you…everything_," I said slyly and was rewarded with a few inches of movement closer. My fangs clacked shut on open air when the man pulled backward abruptly. I keened with disappointment and thrashed in the cuffs.

"That was close," my prey said conversationally. "They didn't feed you properly did they? He pinched the bridge of his nose and then spoke into an earpiece I hadn't noticed before. "Send someone in here," he ordered, then looked back up at me. "I can't work with you like this," he explained as if I cared. Only seconds passed before a short man entered. "He wants to tell you something," my prey said to the nervous man and stepped back so he was leaning against the wall.

My attention snapped to the newcomer and I once again licked my lips. The other man leaning against the wall had an interested gleam in his eyes. His veins still looked delicious but the newest arrival was much closer to me. He shuffled closer and I decided that one was the much better prey.

"Sir?" The prey asked uncertainly.

"Listen to him," the other man said.

"_Come here little human," _I purred.

The prey stumbled forward a few feet and then stopped. His head was below my chin and I growled irritably. "_Grab my chains and pull yourself up." _ Now the prey's throat was in reach and I bared my fangs amiably. _"_Thank you._" _

"F-For what?" the prey asked.

"Your life," I said and sank my fangs into the side of the preys throat. Hot blood gushed into my mouth and I let out a pleased sound. The preys hands shook on the chains but he had wrapped himself in them tight enough that his body wouldn't shake loose. I drank my fill and pulled my fangs free; rattling the chains so the mans body fell free and crumpled onto the floor. Energy rushed through my body and I snapped back into reality. I stared horrorstruck at the man I'd killed. The blood settled in my stomach and, licking my lips to clean them I realized that the man had been drinking recently.

Harrison clapped slowly and nudged the corpse out of the way. His eyes shone. "I didn't think you had it in you," he said proudly. He touched my skin and grinned. "The dragon is closer to the surface then I thought." He pulled out the knife again. "This will be easy." He leaned forward and smirked. "And now you have no blood hunger getting in the way of feeling everything I do to you."

I couldn't stop the pained moan when Harrison cut into my ribs.

"You see I figured out long ago that the young of your kind is too sensitive. They break far too easily." Harrison paused with the knife still in my skin and frowned thoughtfully. "The werewolf always gave in when we hurt her while shifted. Sadly my men took it too far and she is a ruined project." The knife moved again and I shuddered. "And as a young dragon, I see no difference in you."

"We are at the top of the food chain," I sniped. "And you are at the bottom."

Harrison shrugged. "Yet who is chained to the wall?" He drove the knife a little deeper and I screamed before biting my lip to staunch the sound. With sudden tenderness Harrison trailed the knife along my arm and paused at the place wing met shoulder. My whole body tensed. "Your feathers are finally grown," Harrison said. "It's a pity really."

"What-" The knife slashed into my wings, slicing through feathers and fragile muscles. My body shook violently and I opened my mouth but all the air was gone. Another blow across the same wing, severing my flight feathers in half brought my breath back in a sudden rush. After that all I could do was scream.

I sat in the tiny cell with my forehead pressed against the wall so hard bits of cement were grinding into my skin, causing specks of blood to stain the wall. Every so often my fingers would tap irregularly on my knee, but only once or twice then the movement would shudder to a stop. Bowls of food and water sat by the door, a few stacked on top of each from days of deliveries. All of them remained untouched. I had not moved from my place on the wall in three days, only stirring when the guards' hands stuck through the flap to drop bowls and even that was only to turn my head a wings were ruined. They hung like two shredded flags behind me; covered in blood, dirt and vomit. One flight feather that Harrison had kept intact hung in front of my eyes, pinned to the wall by a nail. The tip of it was stained red. My wings no longer shone in brilliant blues. They were flat and dull; but the feather on the wall still flickered. Harrison had been right: young dragons were remarkably easy to destroy. I had nothing left; no will to escape. Just pain. I hadn't heard Harkat in the tunnels next to my cell and hoped that meant he had been spared my treatment. Harrison dropped by almost every day, but each time he spoke to me I stared blankly, blocking out his words. Even when he shocked me I writhed on the floor silently. After that he only came to refill the drugs in my collar, which I let him do easily. The dragon had fallen asleep on my back and I made no effort to awaken it. I supposed Harrison was unhappy he had succeeded in breaking me, but I cared little.

The flap opened and for the second time that day a bowl of filthy water and a strange hunk of meat was dropped through. I ignored it like usual, but eyed the veins in the guards hands with some interest. I was hungry, but had no energy to pursue the free meal sticking its body in my cage.

"Come on dragon," the guard said and waggled his fingers teasingly. I couldn't see his face but the scent pouring off him was mocking. "Bite me you little bugger." When I did nothing the guard laughed loudly, causing my head to pound. "Harrison did a number on you! I heard it worked so well that he's thinking of putting Subject One through it too."

My head twitched slightly further then it had in days. My eyes narrowed and my lips pulled back slowly to show the very tips of my fangs. _Harkat… _Mr. Tiny had showed no sign of coming to rescue the Little Person. I no longer cared about my own fate, but the prospect of Harrison planning death or torture for Harkat was enough to stir the little will I had left.

"I know you can hear me freak," the guard said. "Harrison was so proud when he caught you. He boasted for weeks about how you were going to be the perfect predator. It turns out you are too weak to take a little punishment."

I whipped my hand out and it collided with the bowls of food and water. The dishes hit the wall, sending water and food flying everywhere. Several drops of liquid hit me on the cheek and slid down. I flinched when they hit and my fingers drifted up to catch the drops when they fell off my chin. I rolled the water on my hand and then watched as they sunk into the soft pads of my fingertips. My head tilted and I chuckled. The sound was not at all human and the hand sticking through the flap stopped its teasing movements. I picked up the dishes and licked the water drops out of them, then crawled on the floor and licked the water off it before moving onto the walls. By then my self control was gone and I merely rubbed my upper body onto the walls; Harrison had decided I no longer needed a shirt when he'd thrown me in. The delicious clean, _drug free_ water soaked into my skin like drops of pure energy.

I stood up and placed my hand on the steel door. The guard had stood up as well and I could imagine him facing me on the other side. "Harrison was right," I said. "I am a predator. You will never see or hear me coming. Your guts will be across the floor before you even blink. He told me a lot of things while he cut up my wings. How dragons are lonely, angry, feral monsters. He may be very well true about all of these things." My eyes narrowed into slits. "But we are also exceedingly loyal to those who earn our trust." The door groaned on its hinges and then was blasted backward. The guard was crushed against the opposite wall. I took one step out of the cell and then another. "All of you are going to die," I purred to the dead guard. On my back the dragon spread his wings and I smiled.

I threw back my head and roared. The sound echoed through the tunnels at the same time the ground began to shake. "Here he comes," I sang as men poured into my tunnel. I skipped a couple steps and bowed to the confused guards. "Welcome gentlemen," I said, exposing one pearly white fang. "Who would like to die first?" _'Subject One, I am coming for you,' _I I lacked the will to fight for my freedom then I would fight for Harkats. With a flash of ocean blue eyes I leapt forward; my wings fluttering behind me. The screams that rang up and down the corridor seconds later only began to staunch the flood of rage.

It was only when I stood in the middle of a pile of bodies that I figured out what my purpose would be. A killer. An avenger. I would take retribution for those who could not. And in the process I would bring my own vengeance upon everyone in this damned place.

"Who…are…you…?" one of the guards I had previously thought was dead croaked.

I debated for only a moment. "My name is Shadow." I put a finger to my lips and smiled. "Don't tell anyone." Then I turned and walked down the tunnel, following the rumbling ground. My name would give Mr. Tiny hope and remind me to never become what he wanted. The darkness in my heart was growing every day and in that cell I I'd cracked the lid on exactly the monster I feared to become.

I grabbed a mask off the guard and pulled it over my face. It would not do for Mr. Tiny to find out who I was so early in the game. I smiled under the black cloth and waltzed down the corridor, hiding my broken wings in a cloak of illusion. A shout down the corridor made me take a larger step then I meant to and I stumbled around the next turn.

"GET OFF HIM!" I shouted.

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><p><strong>*hands out buckets of Twizzlers* R&amp;R please?<strong>


	4. Chapter 4- Mr Destiny

**A.N. **

**Sorry this chapter took so long to get up! I kept changing things. **

* * *

><p>I didn't get the chance to take a step toward Harkat before the ground split apart. Great cracks in the earth ripped through the tunnel and I found myself falling headfirst into one when it opened right beneath my feet. I reached out and sought for a handhold as I fell; dust had gotten into my eyes and blinded me. I grabbed a pipe sticking out from the ground and hit the side of the fissure painfully. My wounds from Harrison's tender care had not yet finished healing and I felt several scabs break open on my stomach. Drops of blood fell from my chest and down into the darkness. Even as I struggled to climb back up my mind whirred, discarding the original plan I'd had to deal with Mr. Tiny. A new one was forming and I liked it only slightly better then the old, but it involved less acting.<p>

The next handhold was another pipe at least two feet up. My fingers slipped on the rock and went over a sharp piece of metal embedded in the debris. I cried out and pulled back sharply, hanging by only one hand. A gash had been sliced across four of my fingers, right on my second knuckle. I winced but reached up again and grabbed the pipe, trying to get a good grip despite the blood wetting my hand. The initial energy from escaping was swiftly wearing off and I needed more water. The collar had released another dose into my system and the dragon was almost asleep. I had just enough magic to hold the illusions, but I doubted that would last long. I put my feet on a tiny ledge and sucked in a breath, wiping my eyes with the back of my blood free hand. Instead of helping I smeared even more dirt on my face.

"Darren!" Harkats pain filled scream was almost right above me and then it faded away abruptly.

I shouted back at him and reached up, seeking another pipe. I found one and scrambled up another few feet. My new plan was just as dangerous, maybe even more so because it involved Mr. Tiny knowing exactly who I was from the start, but in the long run I thought it would keep him more interested. He knew that magical creatures only were kept here. He would also know that the collars would only be put on those with powers to be kept in check. I would keep up the pretense of not remembering anything, but also refuse to be called Darren and insist on Shadow. I would lead him along with the idea of me having some sort of power and also keep the act of a slightly darker persona going.

"Where are you?" Harkat shouted.

"Down here!" I coughed. Seconds later a body fell past me and into the void. It was a guard and his terror filled face faded out of sight quickly. When another man fell I snaked out a hand and grabbed him on the arm, almost loosing my balance on the spot I stood when his weight yanked me backward. The guard looked relieved, then confused when I swiftly undid his shirt and pulled it off. Then with a derisive sniff I let him fall, pulling the shirt on me and buttoning it. The rough fabric was hard on my injuries but it was better then Mr. Tiny seeing the dragon before I could wake it up fully and send it under my jeans. Even that would be a problem. The dragon had grown and now it was almost three feet long, not counting tail. It had to wrap in an awkward spiral formation to fit on my leg.

"How did you manage that?" Harkat asked and his face poked over the side of the crack.

"It opened up right under my feet," I said dryly.

Harkat looked over his shoulder and then back down at me. "All of the cracks stayed away from me," he said. He looked back again and then sighed. "More guards are coming. I can't take them all."

"Help me up," I said quickly and held out a hand toward Harkat. More scabs cracked when I did so and I winced.

Harkat wriggled out over the edge and reached down. Our fingertips brushed but I was still too far and there were no more pipes for me to climb up. Harkat slid even further so his entire upper body was over the edge and grabbed my wrist. But now he was stuck; unable to get leverage to pull himself up. I tried to shove him backwards a few inches but lost my balance in the process and fell. Harkat didn't let go and we both toppled into the abyss. I barely managed to grab a piece of rock and we stopped falling. Now we were at least thirty feet from the top and the guards footsteps were approaching quickly.

"Maybe they won't see us," Harkat whispered. He was holding onto another rock at least a foot below me.

I nodded and flattened myself into the rock. I could tell at least two of the guards were bleeding but the other four were in perfect condition. My illusions were so perfect that I simply didn't have fangs, but I wanted to rip into their necks even without them. I had also painted over my swirling blue eyes and turned them pale green.

Six heads poked over the side of the crack and I groaned silently.

"Hello boys," one of the guards said gleefully. His companions on each side of him were the injured ones and I licked my lips. "Why don't we lower a rope and you climb up nice and easy?"

"He can't," Harkat said and pointed at me. "He's injured from what Harrison did."

"Then he can fall," the guard said disdainfully.

"I can climb if I have too," I whispered down to Harkat. "The blood hunger is making me stronger then I would be under these conditions."

"I thought they fed you?" Harkat asked confused. "It should take at least a month for that to happen."

"Not for whatever I am," I explained. "I need to feed every couple days. Blood hunger starts after three."

"Ok," Harkat said and his eyes narrowed calculatingly. "How can I make you stronger?"

"Ask me what I would do up there," I hissed.

Harkat nodded and shouted up. "Lower the rope!" Then he climbed up so he was level with my left ear and started to speak softly. "You are hungry Darren."

"Shadow," I said automatically. "My name is Shadow."

Harkat hesitated then swallowed and continued. "Alright….Shadow. What would you do to sate your hunger?"

I bared non existent fangs. "Kill."

"How are you going to get up there?"

"Climb," I hissed hungrily.

"And then what?"

"Rip out their throats," I purred. "Feed…"

The rope fell between us and Harkat grabbed on, tying it around his waist. "Then climb with me and feed Shadow!"

My head turned and I looked at him with dark eyes. "Yes…" I looked up at the six guards and licked my lips. "Hungry." I stretched out my gashed hand and began to climb, digging my nails into the rock. I stayed right behind Harkat, pressing my body into the rock like a spider while he splayed out his body to hide me from the guards sight; all had withdrawn from the edge to help pull Harkat up but one and he was directly above Harkat. The moment Harkat was tugged over the edge the last guard pulled back and I waited, the top of my head inches from the top.

"Shadow sate your hunger!" Harkat howled.

I sprang over the edge, bowling over the guard who was trying to force Harkat down the tunnel. I momentarily paused at him, sniffing his throat before moving on. He wasn't the injured one. Normally hunting would have been preferable, but this time I wanted a quick and easy meal. Besides he had told me to fall and I wanted to put an end to his life slower. I was upon the two injured prey in moments; one had their arm in a bloody wrap while the other had their head swathed in bandages. I turned on the bloody one and ripped his sling off ruthlessly, exposing a nasty gash that was still bleeding. I licked his arm, purring when the blood rolled down my tongue. The human tried to flee but I held him down with one hand on his chest and cleaned his arm. I decided that while the illusions were helpful, I did not need one over my fangs. The second my illusion fell, I abandoned the arm and pulled the prey around so his neck was within biting reach.

"Shadow!" Harkat called from far away.

I growled in annoyance and forced the prey's head back so his throbbing veins were exposed.

"SHADOW!" Harkat roared.

I looked up and paused. Harkat was standing in front of another man. Not a guard that was for sure. Not Harrison either. He wore a bright yellow suit and green rain boots and a pair of spectacles that framed cunning eyes. A crimson, heart shaped watch was in his right hand, and it glowed faintly. The man bent down to whisper something in Harkats ear and then stepped out from behind the Little Person and strode toward me. The closer he got the more riled up I became until I snarled at him defiantly and pulled my prey away from him. This seemed to annoy the man because he frowned and his watch glowed a little brighter.

"Stop," Harkat pleaded. "He's just hungry."

The little man pulled back and held up his hands.

When I was sure that the stranger was not going to steal my food I bared my fangs and sank them deep into the preys neck. It squealed loudly and twisted but I held on until it stilled. It was hard to drink with the mask on and I pulled it off thoughtlessly before returning to the ruined meals neck. This time the blood flowed into my mouth easily and I gulped blood down desperately, uncaring of the extra staining my chin, neck and stolen shirt. When there was nothing left to get out of the body I pulled back and twisted around to Harkat and the man. When I faced them the man froze and then scowled. His hands lit up and he took one step toward me, face darkening. All the air was sucked out of the tunnel and my hands flew to my throat, trying to pull in oxygen that wasn't there.

"Wait!" Harkat yelped and latched onto the mans arm, trying to pull him back. "He doesn't remember anything!"

This gave the man pause and he turned his head slowly to stare down Harkat.

Harkat babbled on, spewing out the rest of what he had to say so fast I was surprised the stranger understood him. "He woke up here with me. Both of us have been stuck here. I don't know why they wanted him, or what is up with the fangs. He doesn't even remember his name! He didn't know me. All I know about him now is he…he wants to be called Shadow."

The glowing in the mans hands subsided somewhat but he still looked annoyed.

I wiped my mouth and then blinked. I was finally back in my right head but didn't know if it was a good idea to admit that with Mr. Tiny so close to mental unbalance. Then again he was always like that. My own insanity seemed to be waylaying Mr. Tiny's anger though.

"Will you come with us?" Harkat asked me.

I stared at him with suspicious eyes and tossed aside the dead guard, straightening up to my full height. I hid my fangs again and crossed my arms, flicking my eyes toward the exit. All of a sudden going with the pair and dealing with Mr. Tiny's distrust and hate for who knows how long seemed unappealing. I wanted to run out and find out what I was really capable of. On the other hand I was tired, bleeding and wanted a roof over my head that didn't involve being electrocuted.

"Why?" I rasped.

"Because I am your friend," Harkat said. When that didn't seem to be a good enough reason he continued. "You need medical care and sleep. We are in the middle of a desert and I don't think you would make it out of here."

The tunnel shifted suddenly and pipes popped out of place. Another man rounded the corner and almost fell into the same crack that had almost claimed Harkat and I. _Harrison_. Harkat and I turned on him with equal hatred and ran at him, uncaring of the consequences. Halfway down the tunnel Harrison pulled out a dial. I stopped dead and so did Harkat.

"Subject One and Two," Harrison said and sighed dramatically. "You both have been quite the nuisance."

"Good," Harkat and I said together.

Harrison rubbed the dial and pursed his lips. Then he looked past us and spotted Mr. Tiny standing where we had left him. "Who is that?" He asked curiously.

Mr. Tiny walked up the tunnel until he was directly behind me, but did not give a response.

"Is he like you?" Harrison asked me.

"I don't know," I said. "I can't remember."

Harrison's face twisted angrily. "Again and again we do this Subject Two."

My entire body was tensed in preparation of the collar coming to life. "You didn't break me," I spat. "I got free."

"But you are broken!" Harrison crowed. He pointed wildly at us and danced from foot to foot. "Both of you would have been my perfect creations!"

I rolled my eyes.

"I already have a creator," Harkat said flatly.

"Come with me," Harrison said, ignoring Harkat. "Now."  
>"No," Harkat said.<p>

"Come now or I will kill your friend!" Harrison twisted the dial abruptly and I was down on the ground flailing violently. A scream broke free and then I couldn't stop. "I took everything from him! Don't think I won't take his life!"

Harkat went down on his hands and knees, trying to get the collar off but it was firmly locked in place. "Stop it!" He shouted desperately. "STOP IT! He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"He wronged me when he refused to bow!" Harrison yelled. His speech was becoming garbled and I wondered if it was him or if my hearing was starting to go. Harkat was practically sitting on me to keep my body from twitching into one of the cracks. "He wouldn't become mine!" Harrison screamed. "If he won't fly for me then he will never fly!"

My body arched and my voice broke. Spots danced in my vision and I started to go into shock. My heart was beating to erratically and I couldn't breathe. I wheezed loudly. Then another pair of hands was at my throat. I tried to pull them off before they could strangle me but my jumping muscles just sent them in the wrong direction. The collar snapped in two and the mind numbing pain stopped. Mr. Tiny was crouching beside me with the collar in two pieces; one half in each glowing hand. He was studying the needle with interest, touching the tip.

I lay on the ground, covered in dirt and blood from my newly broken open wounds and stared at the ceiling. Harkat was trying to get me upright but I lacked the energy to force my still twitching body into submission. Mr. Tiny grabbed me by the collar and pulled me upright with one hand, and for the first time spoke.

"You had to put this much drug in a half vampire to keep him subdued?" He sounded just like the old Mr. Tiny: creepily polite with an undercurrent of darkness that kept you wary.

Harrison snorted. "A vampire he may be, but he has something else in that blood of his." He smiled furtively. "Fought like a dragon that one."

The hand on my collar tightened a fraction then loosened, and then Mr. Tiny turned around and walked away, dragging me along. Harkat followed at his heels protesting.

"Why did you let him live?" The Little Person asked, frustrated.

"He interests me," Mr. Tiny said blandly.

Harkat scowled but followed without protest as we walked into the desert. We walked until the moon hovered in the sky, the first stars popping out. Harkat was trailing behind, his feet dragging through the sand in exhaustion. My body was equally tired, but I would have preferred to walk instead of being carried like a misbehaving puppy. Every time I tried to get my feet underneath me Mr. Tiny shook me warningly. The shocks that went through my abused body were enough to keep me still for awhile. We stopped in the shelter of two huge sand dunes, and Mr. Tiny sat me down rather roughly and started a campsite before I could blink. Harkat slumped down and leaned against the sand, uncaring of the stuff sliding down the back of his robes. Mr. Tiny's mood was swiftly returning to its previous state and I decided to revert back to the feral state I'd been in when he first showed up. For some reason it seemed to calm the man.

Mr. Tiny set up a simple tent with a flick of his fingers and entered. Harkat helped drag me inside and I gaped when we entered the flap. The inside was huge. Huge fluffy rugs decorated the floors and plush furniture dotted the outskirts of the room. A fireplace was at the back half of the tent, and on other side was a huge old fashioned stove. I retreated to a corner with a big rug that was so soft I wanted to fall asleep right then even with Mr. Tiny pacing around the tent. I staked out the rug as my territory and much to the amusement of Harkat, who was sprawled out in a huge armchair growled at Mr. Tiny whenever he approached my corner. Astoundingly Mr. Tiny only seemed to get slightly irritated at this, settling on eyeing me speculatively. Somehow going into a simpler state halted the magician's anger, but it also reduced me to possibly making bad choices. At least I was aware of who everyone was.

After both of us was quiet Mr. Tiny made up a gigantic bowl of soup and handed out large helpings. He set mine just outside the rug and I felt a thrill of victory. I grabbed the bowl and hunched over in the corner with my arm wrapped around it protectively. I used the spoon for a few mouthfuls then abandoned it when I couldn't get enough food in my mouth at one time. Instead I tilted the bowl and swallowed the soup down in one go, nearly blistering my throat in the process. Harkat was doing nearly the same in his chair and when I lowered the bowl he had a ring of soup around his mouth. By the look on his face I knew I had the same problem.

"If you are quite done go and clean yourselves," Mr. Tiny said and pointed at a shower in the corner I hadn't noticed before. It was surrounded by screens for privacy and clean clothes were hung over the racks. Fresh robes for Harkat and a complete outfit for me. Harkat and I exchanged looks, silently warring over who would go first.

"Darren go," Mr. Tiny said after nearly a minute of silence.

I decided not to antagonize him and quickly hopped over to the shower and got in. It took several minutes to get the layers of dirt and blood off my skin and hair. When I got out I felt ten pounds lighter and pulled on my new clothes; sending the dragon down to my leg. The water had not only washed away the pain lingering from the electricity but it had partially healed my wounds and awoken the magic. The cuts on my hands were completely gone and the ones from Harrison were scabbed over again. I scurried back over to my rug and Harkat got in. He took even longer then I did and I thought with some glee about the sand he'd let down his robes.

"Sleep," Mr. Tiny said and gave Harkat a blanket. He once again set the item down just outside my rug and I stared at for a long time.

Finally I made up my mind and turned my back on the blanket. I lay down at the edge of the rug and rolled it over myself, turning over and over until I was wrapped securely in the rug. There was momentary silence and then Harkats laughter echoed in the tent.

"You look like a burrito!" He chortled.

I huffed indignantly and burrowed deeper into the rug until none of my body could be seen. "At least I don't look like a mushroom," I muttered.

"Burrito!" Harkat retorted.

"Mushroom!"

Something hit the top of my rug and I knew Harkat had thrown a pillow at me. I smirked and snuck a hand out of my rug; searching for a pillow of my own. When I couldn't find one I stuck my head outside and came face to face with Mr. Tiny. He held the pillow and was looking at me with exasperation. I stared at him, trying to decide if he really had thrown the pillow or if Harkat had and Mr. Tiny had merely picked it up. Now I could do the obvious thing and retreat, or do something idiotic. I opted for the latter and snatched the pillow from him, withdrawing back into the rug; using the pillow to plug the hole and sighed happily. When instant death did not rain upon me I grinned and snuggled into the softness.

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><p><strong>Writing 'evil' Mr. Tiny is hard, but I love writing his interactions with Darren. It makes me laugh xD<strong>

**R&R please? :D **


	5. Chapter 5- Prelude to Trouble

A.N.

**DeathBright**: He is acting like he has absolutely no memory.

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><p>Someone was shaking me hard. I tried to shove them off and slip back into the restful sleep I'd been having but a slap across the face brought me to life and I lashed out at my attacker. I sent Harkat reeling backwards into the sand before seeing it was him. His eyes were wide and a crazed expression had settled on his face. I held up my hands pleadingly, in case I had done something to enrage him. Harkat looked confused then shook his head and gestured around him wildly.<p>

"He's gone!" Harkat cried and kicked the ground, sending a flurry of sand into the air.

I stood up, all sleepiness gone in an instant and turned in a slow circle. The tent had vanished and Mr. Tiny was nowhere to be seen. We had nothing; no food, water or weapons. Not even shoes. "How long were we asleep?" I questioned.

"I'm not sure, but the sun was setting when we first arrived here so at least a day," Harkat said. He was right. Behind him the sun was low on the horizon.

"Why would he leave?" I asked desperately.

"Maybe you made him angry," Harkat said in frustration. "You shouldn't have provoked him!"

"Me?" I said furiously. "I didn't do anything!"

Harkat threw up his hands. "Mr. Tiny is not one to fool with _Shadow. _ He can and will let us die if we make him mad. That's probably what he is doing now! We have no supplies and who knows how big this desert is! We don't even know what continent we're on!" Harkat pushed me backwards and unprepared I fell into the sand. "I don't believe you can't remember anything. Maybe you don't want to admit it. Maybe something happened. But you have to be lying."

I pushed myself upright and stalked over to Harkat, grabbing the front of his robes. I had to convince the Little Person first. If I couldn't reason with him I would never convince Mr. Tiny. "I can't remember anything," I said firmly. "Nothing. Not my name, my parents, or if I had siblings. I don't know where I grew up, what my life was like or even how I became like this! I didn't even know my name until you called me Darren." I sighed and released Harkat, shaking my head in exasperation. "Yet I still know how to dress myself, and do everything a normal human would do to get around in life. I can still fight too. But I don't know what my preferred weapons are, or if I even had one in the first place."

Harkat groaned and put his head in his hands. "I was hoping you were lying. I thought you were suspicious of Mr. Tiny or something."

"No," I said. "I'm sorry. I can't be the person you knew before if I don't remember what he was like."

A short silence followed then Harkat held out his hand. "I hope I can get to know you then Shadow."

"Me too," I said and clapped Harkat on the back.

After gaining our bearings with the setting sun the best we could we started toward the sunset, trudging over sharp rocks and past cactus that cast grotesque shadows on the ground. In the distance huge formations of rock spiraled into the sky. By the time the moon had been up for nearly two hours both of us were shivering. My limbs were close to numb and I rubbed my arms to keep the blood circulating. I felt sluggish and kept stumbling over random rocks, nearly walking face first into a cactus several times. Though Harkat had on thick robes he was faring little better.

"I guess we know what season it is," I stammered through chattering teeth.

"Winter," Harkat agreed. He had put the hood of his robes up and I could see his breath clouding in the air. "The desert only gets…. this cold then."

"M-maybe he wanted us to f-freeze," I said.

Harkat said nothing in response.

The longer we walked the harder it was to keep moving. We both knew if we stopped even for a second, if we let our bodies' fall we would fall asleep and die. I could no longer feel my fingers or toes and I had already forgotten what it was like to have a nose or ears. I stuck my arms inside my shirt to try and conserve any heat I could but all that did was send more chills up my torso when my fingers touched skin. I brushed alongside one of the rock formations and tripped, falling to my knees. My eyes fluttered closed for a second then I forced them open, allowing Harkat to help me up before wobbling along.

"Wh-why didn't we freeze w-with Mr. Ti-tiny," I wondered out loud.

"He was probably…shielding us…from…the…cold," Harkat wheezed. Instead of his teeth chattering he was reverting to the same slow speech he'd had when I first met him.

Whether it was minutes or hours later I did not know, but the sound of engines made me look up from the hard stare I'd been giving the ground. I turned sluggishly and opened my mouth to let out a joyful croak, but clamped my blue lips shut. Six dune buggies were racing across the desert toward us, and if it wasn't for the men holding guns I would have thought they were night thrill seekers. I exchanged a look with Harkat and he grimaced.

"I think…you…were wrong in…your assumption," Harkat said. "Mr. Tiny…would think…freezing is…boring…watching us…be shot…would be much more…interesting…to him."

"L-lovely," I muttered. "Hide."

The nearest rock tower was close and it had a small niche in it just big enough to stuff our bodies inside. The hiding spot was only about six feet off the ground but it was hard to force our frozen bodies inside. We ended up tangled around each other and I knew there would be no more running. My head thumped against the rock and I closed my eyes, sliding a hand under my shirt to brush the top of the dragons head. It was still active, but barely. Harkat and I took turns pinching each other as the dune buggies came closer. After awhile Harkat snorted and shook his head.

"Stop…pinching me," he said wearily. "Can't…feel…it."

I laid my numb hand down and peered out of the crack. The buggies were about fifty feet away now and closing fast. There were two men to each buggy and all of them looked dressed for the weather. Another sound from behind the rock and out of sight made Harkat stir. In my distraction I hadn't even noticed his eyes had closed. Another vehicle was approaching and it sounded bigger then the buggies. I strained to see through the darkness, digging my nails into my palm to keep awake. A black jeep zipped past us, sending up a cloud of dust so close I coughed on it. The dune buggies split apart to intercept it and I saw a chance.

"C-come o-on," I said and nudged Harkat roughly.

We slid out of the crack, landing on our backs on the ground. I stared up at the moon, dazed at how large it looked and smiled. Freezing wasn't such a bad way to go after all. In fact I wasn't cold at all; I was warm, so warm I might have been running a temperature. I struggled to get my shirt off, but my fingers were too numb to work the buttons. Harkat had slightly more luck then I did; the top half of his robes were already off and he looked deliriously happy.

"W-wait," I said lethargically. "N-not ri-right." Was I supposed to take my clothes off? I couldn't remember anymore.

"…look," Harkat slurred and I lifted my chin a fraction to see the black jeep skid around and turn back. Half the buggies were in smoking ruin and the other half flew toward us at break neck speed. I sunk my nails into the rock and got into a sitting position. The dragons last bit of heat spread into my chest and I wobbled upright. I grabbed Harkats hand and tried to tug him along, but he suddenly seemed to weigh a ton. I managed to get him about a foot before falling to my knees again. The dragons' heat vanished and I tilted sideways, falling across Harkats' prone body. The warmth was back and I embraced it; looking longingly at the niche we had hidden in. My eyes slid half shut and the buggies skidded to a stop around us. But before the men had a chance to even aim their guns the jeep slammed into them, sending the buggies into a flying heap of metal.

When everything was still the jeep stopped and the drivers' door opened. A pair of green rain boots hit the ground and started toward us. Harkat took one shuddering breath and then lay still. I sucked in a breath of my own and my eyes drifted away from the boots that were still coming closer and stared at the stars until they filled my entire field of view. My breath sailed out of my chest and I didn't try to take in another; content to drift away. A face appeared in my eyesight, blocking out the beautiful sky. I wanted to curse the face aside, and made an effort to do so but I had no air. My eyes shut at the same time my lips were pulled back, exposing my fangs. Something rested against them and then sank down. Hot, delicious liquid flowed into my mouth and burned in my mouth until I swallowed reflexively. The blood raced through my veins until I felt like I would burst into flame. My chest moved and I sucked in a breath, clamping my mouth down harder on whatever was feeding me. But the meal was pulled away much sooner then I would have liked and I whined unhappily.

"Hush," a male voice said sternly.

I opened my eyes and stared into Mr. Tiny's face. One hand glowing hand each rested on Harkat and I, and even as I watched two holes in his wrist healed. His heart shaped watch was floating in the air between all three of us, its hands moving immeasurably fast. It wasn't any of that which bothered me. It was the fact that Mr. Tiny was smiling. A smile that threatened to burst off his face and fly away into the night. I looked back at the place I'd punctured with my fangs and shuddered. While Mr. Tiny might have thought the movement was from the last bit of cold leaving my body, it was really for a much different reason. Whenever something caused Mr. Tiny to smile, it meant nothing but trouble.

Mr. Tiny saw my eyes were open and if possible his mouth curved even further. I was the reason he was so happy. Again I looked to where I'd fed from him and gulped. I had drunk blood from his wrist, and tied myself to him irreversibly, in a way I had no idea the consequences of. Instead of showing my fear I growled at the man and narrowed my eyes hatefully.

"You left," I snarled.

Mr. Tiny's expression returned to normalcy and he arched an eyebrow. "I had business that did not involve babysitting." He sniffed. "It was unfortunate your protection failed so quickly." But his scent gave away that what happened went exactly as planned.

I struggled to get out from under the meddlers glowing hand but was pushed back. "I feel fine," I lied. "Let me go."

"No, Shadow." Mr. Tiny said frankly. "I don't think I am ever going to let you go." Again the disturbing smile returned and he grabbed his watch out of the air. The hands twisted around each other and I stared at them dazedly, sinking into the surface of the watch until I fell unconscious.

I took a piece of toast in each hand and studied the food shrewdly, sniffing the buttery bread before taking a bite and letting out a sound of appreciation. Harkat stared at me for almost an entire minute, like he expected me to fall over dead or burst into flames. When I did neither he took some toast and shoved half a piece in his mouth at once.

"Any idea how long Mr. Tiny has been gone?" Harkat asked when his mouth was empty enough to talk.

I sniffed the air, trying to work around the heavy butter scent and shrugged. "At least a few hours, but probably more. At least we have the tent this time." I grabbed another set of toast and watched with some bemusement as the plate refilled itself with an even higher stack of bread.

"So now you can tell me how you shook those beds in the hospital," Harkat said and leaned forward expectantly.

I froze mid chew and frowned. "How do you know it was me?"

Harkat sighed. "Because your eyes were glowing. Or maybe it was the set of fangs and the wings that gave it away?" He shrugged and snatched more toast. "Either way I know you are something different and since you obviously don't want Mr. Tiny to know, this is the perfect time to tell me what you are while he's gone."

I weighed the pros and cons of telling Harkat what I could "remember" and shook my head. "I don't know much," I said and stuffed toast into my mouth to buy some time. Outside the tent I could see a strip of light and smell gasoline, fast food and sweaty humans. Somehow we were camped in the middle of a city and nobody was barging in to ask why a tent was sitting on the sidewalk.

"You don't know, or you won't tell me?" Harkat asked. "Because I know Mr. Tiny didn't put anything in the shower water. You healed on your own."

I paled and gripped the chairs armrests hard. "Yes I am something else. I still need blood though and I have little control over exactly what happens. Sometimes I can direct it, but most of the time…" I trailed off meaningfully. "What happened in the hospital wasn't planned. I wanted the nurses to leave you alone but I didn't mean for the beds to do that." I actually wasn't sure of my control over the magic yet. I was barely back to full health and wouldn't know how unbalanced my magic was until the last drugs left my system, which would be about the end of the day. "You can't tell anyone," I said vehemently. "Especially not Mr. Tiny."

"My lips are sealed," Harkat said grinning.

We finished eating quickly and the plate vanished. The rest of the morning we spent exploring the tent, which I quickly found was a lot bigger then I had thought. Multiple zippers were on the walls and besides the one that led to the bedroom, a bathroom and the one going outside none would budge. The kitchen was also filled with locked cupboards and I debated taking one of the knives, but Harkat talked me out of it; saying that if we were going to be exploring the city being found armed was not a good way to start. The rug I'd slept on before was still in the same place, and amazingly rolled up with the pillow sitting next to it. The entire tent was outlandishly decorated and the longer Harkat and I looked around the stranger things got. Sculptures no bigger then my thumbnail ran along the back of the four-poster bed and when I got closer to see what they were I saw they depicted a man turning into a wolf. Even as I looked at them I thought that the wolf turned its head to stare me down and I left the bedroom slightly disturbed. Harkat found what looked like a sword rack but all two slots were empty so he lost interest quickly and wandered away. The sides of the wooden rack were carved with two dragons, one that looked like Mr. Tiny's and another like Evannas'.

I traced the dragons' heads and a surge of energy ran up my arm so fast I yanked my hand back and rubbed my hand. On the bottom of the stand a third dragon appeared, feathered and arching its back with playful slyness and a third sword rack appeared. Right away I knew what the rack was for; the swords Mr. Tiny, Evanna and I had fought the Shadow Lord with. They had been lost after the battle and I wondered if they had been destroyed, or merely relocated in my wave of magic. My hand itched and I longed to have the weapon back in my hands. I stepped away from the rack and hoped Mr. Tiny wouldn't pay too much attention to the additions. A leather bag that looked eerily like the one I owned before sat by the tent door and I opened it with Harkat peering over my shoulder. Inside was a wallet, two smart phones and a necklace with a note attached. I handed the necklace and note to Harkat and turned on the phones.

"The note says the necklace is for me," Harkat said doubtfully. He turned the necklace over in his hands. It was plain; a round stone with a silver chain. To Harkats' eyes that's all he would see, but to me the entire thing glowed crimson.

The phones already had two numbers each in them. One phone had Darren and Mr. Tiny, while the other had Harkat and Mr. Tiny. I handed the first phone to Harkat and stared at him in shock.

Harkat didn't look like a Little Person anymore. He looked like a normal teenager, about my height with blue eyes and cropped blond hair. He wore ripped jeans and a red T-shirt, along with a backpack and a pair of heavy duty boots.

"Look in the mirror," I suggested and the resulting gasp made me laugh.

"I'm a real boy!" Harkat crowed and jumped up and down.

I laughed harder and swung the bag over my shoulder, tucking the wallet and phone into my pocket. Overnight Mr. Tiny had also left me a pair of jeans and a black hoodie. I was glad; I didn't feel like going out in sweatpants and a giant shirt.

"Let's go," Harkat said, jumping from foot to foot.

"Alright Pinocchio," I said smirking and unzipped the tent.

We stepped outside and nearly crashed into Mr. Tiny who was waiting for us on the sidewalk, leaning against a pole. "Hello gentlemen," he said and raked his eyes over us assessing our condition. His eyes lingered where my fangs would have been, but I had finally figured out how to hide them with great difficulty and an hour in the mirror.

Skyscrapers loomed above us and humans brushed by, walking right through the tent like it wasn't even there. The sheer noise and volume of scents was a bit overwhelming and I shook my head to clear it.

Mr. Tiny dramatically swept out his hand. "Welcome to Las Vegas."

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><p><strong>R&amp;R please?<strong>


	6. Chapter 6- Hunger

The city spread out around us, a maze of scent trails belonging to humans and "others". The sheer size, noise and activity was almost overwhelming and I shook my head to clear it before tuning back in to what Mr. Tiny was saying.

"Before we go our separate ways," the man said. "We will go out for a proper lunch." He started to walk up the street without looking back and I followed, stumbling around humans.

My stomach muscles hurt from being taut and anxious. I had awoken multiple times throughout the night due to nightmares of varying things. The starring figures were almost always Mr. Tiny forcing his bleeding wrist toward my mouth or Harrison clasping the collar around my throat, drawing the dial out of his pocket with a wicked smirk. My body had been so hot I feared I was sick and my limbs, while shaky felt like they could have lifted a hundred tons. At three in the morning I'd finally given up on any sleep after vomiting rather spectacularly in the bathroom; I would have fled into the night for fresh air, but I hadn't wanted to alert Mr. Tiny and returned to bed. At one point I was sure I had been sleepwalking because I'd found two gold trinkets tucked under my pillow. They were up my sleeve because I hadn't had a chance to put them back without Mr. Tiny noticing. On top of all that I didn't know how many days we'd been asleep, which was a problem because I had no idea how long I'd gone without blood. A vague itching in the back of my throat told me I was hungry, but I didn't feel like ripping out any throats yet which was a plus.

We settled on a slightly rundown place, sitting in a red colored booth. Unfortunately the red shade was closer to crimson then I would have liked and I kept staring into space over Mr. Tiny's shoulder; drowning in the blood color. When the waiter came, I absently noted she had long black hair and her eyes were brilliant violet. The pulse in her neck beat steadily and I had to tear my eyes away to order cherry soda. Mr. Tiny ordered white wine and Harkat settled on coke. I opened the menu and scanned it, gripping my knee under the table.

"I was hoping we could discuss the events that brought us together," Mr. Tiny said, closing his menu after barely a minute of studying it.

Harkat and I tensed and I leaned further over the menu, trying to appear occupied with the side dishes. The waiter came back and placed our drinks in front of us. Mr. Tiny told her to come back in five minutes and she left. I picked up the soda and sipped at it; the sugary liquid rushed into my mouth and my fangs popped out to suck it down. I drank the entire glass before setting the cup down on the table with a louder thump then intended.

"What about them?" Harkat asked uneasily.

"Everything," Mr. Tiny said, looking between us.

I swallowed hard and fidgeted in my seat. The idea of explaining what had happened there made me want to bring up every ounce of cherry soda. Even if I could spin a slightly alternate story to keep my magic secret I would still have to keep most of it the same. "There isn't much to tell," I said tentatively. Next to me Harkat looked like he was thinking the same thing I was.

"Harkat was there for several days," Mr. Tiny said. "As were you Shadow. Are you telling me that in the time you were there nothing happened?"

"Nothing happened," I lied. If I had felt sick before it was nothing to how I felt now. I wanted to bolt from the chair and run away screaming until any talk of Harrison was miles away.

"He's right," Harkat said.

"I don't believe you," Mr. Tiny said scowling.

The waiter came back and refilled my drink. She waited for our orders impatiently and I quickly looked back at the menu before selecting a hamburger and fries. This time her pulse was slightly faster and it was that much harder to look away. When I did I was immediately met with the red fabric of the booth and I sighed. It took Mr. Tiny thumping his hand onto the table to make me jump and look back at him.

"Now," Mr. Tiny said crossly. "Is the problem you will not, or cannot tell me?"

I knew we had to tread carefully. Mr. Tiny hadn't been this angry since I had first seen him at Harrisons. "Can't," I said and folded my hands in my lap, staring at Mr. Tiny through my fringe of hair. I was trying to put on the same slightly inhuman act like before, since it had worked to calm the man last time.

"Why not?" Mr. Tiny demanded.

My lips had sealed themselves shut and I shook my head wordlessly.

Harkat rubbed his arms and under the illusion I could see a hint of the white string that the nurses had put in him. "I don't think you would understand if we explained why."

"Do they have magic?" Mr. Tiny hissed. "Are you under compulsion?" He looked like he wanted to kill us, but was barely hanging onto his self control.

Harkat straightened and looked straight at Mr. Tiny, apparently mustering up every bit of courage he had. "Pain," he said. "Pain and fear is what happened." He looked sideways at me. "I don't know exactly what happened to Shadow, but it was…different for both of us." He stared at his hands and shrugged helplessly. "I don't think either of us have the words to express it. At least I had something else before it though. Shadow woke up in that…place with no memory."

Mr. Tiny leaned back and seemed to calm down slightly. At least he no longer looked like he would explode. He seemed to be thinking over what Harkat had said and either he found enough information in it or he knew there would be no more gotten out of us. He probably wouldn't be happy with that little bit for long and somehow he would be planning to get the full story out of us one way or another. But for now Harkat and I had dodged the question for the most part.

I sucked down the second glass of soda and Harkat, who seemed to be seeking something funny laughed.

"You really drained that drink," he chuckled.

I clenched the glass so hard it cracked and shuddered. "Don't talk about draining anything," I said.

Harkats eyes widened and he stared at me questioningly; when I nodded he paled slightly and seemed to count how many humans were in the restaurant. I already knew: thirteen other victims if I broke.

Finally the waiter came back with food and I dug in, trying to sate my hunger with solid food. I knew it wouldn't work, but at least it would help my more normal hunger. Harkat kept staring at me out of the corner of my eye so much he almost spilled his soup. It was a very odd experience sitting at the table with Mr. Tiny while he ate shrimp. If I didn't look too closely I could almost imagine he was the man I had known before, but then he looked over and the shine in his eyes was so different the image shattered. I sighed and stared at my plate. When our meals were almost finished I got up from the table. "Bathroom," I explained.

I rushed past the waiters and a few waiting patrons before I was standing over the sink. My fangs kept threatening to push past my upper lip no matter how many times I slapped up the illusion. I splashed water over my face and walked back out into the main part of the restaurant. Our waiter was standing next to another woman in the hallway while they waited, facing away from me and out into the rest of the restaurant. I walked up behind them and was about to cough and ask to pass when my eyes locked on the pulse beating in the twos necks. I stopped and blinked, biting my lip. I opened my mouth, fully intending to speak and then closed it again. My stomach growled and my fangs ached. I took a slow step forward and raised my hand to tap our waiter on the shoulder to pass, but again I stopped. One tiny sip wouldn't kill the woman; I was so, so hungry. I leaned forward toward her neck, fangs sliding free. The two women kept talking oblivious to their peril and I grinned, ready to sink my teeth into her throat.

"SHADOW NO!" Harkat bellowed.

I snapped my head up and Harkat threw himself out of the booth, tearing across the restaurant toward me. Mr. Tiny turned in his seat and then got up; it was clear he didn't quite know what was going on yet. Harkats shout made the two women turn around and then scream. They bolted for the doors and then several others in the restaurant caught onto the fear and ran for the doors too. I growled and stalked forward, jerking my head from side to side as multiple humans fled this way and that. There was so much food running around I wasn't quite sure which to go for first. I inhaled and sifted through the scents in the room, trying to distinguish the most flavorful. The man trying to push through the door first caught my attention and I flew across the restaurant, bounding over tables to get to him. When I was about half way there, the human noticed and his terror escaped in a high pitched scream that hurt my ears enough to send me in a different direction. Then I was hit in the legs so hard that that both my attacker and I toppled off the table and onto the floor. Harkat tried to push me down and pin me by the arms but I bucked him off and sent him flying into the wall where he hit hard and slid down.

"What the hell is going on?" Mr. Tiny roared and his voice was so loud and angry that the entire restaurant stopped, including me. He pointed at me and I growled at him. "What is this?"

Harkat stumbled upright and flexed his hand, wincing. "He's hungry."

Mr. Tiny lowered his hand and stared at me. I tilted my head and looked back equally challenging. "He just drank," he said irritably. "From me."

Harkat looked like he wanted to ask more about that but instead continued. "He needs to drink every two days or…," he gestured at me. "That."

The humans in the restaurant had been looking between us but now the man I had wanted before cursed loudly and threw open the door. I whipped around and leapt at him, but something invisible slammed into my right side and sent me across three tables before I stopped. My ribs burned with red hot pain and every breath sent needles up my chest. I tried to curl up, shocked out of the hunger for the moment but I was pushed back down and Mr. Tiny towered over me, pushing his hand flat on my chest. The rest of the humans filed out the restaurant and I squirmed unhappily, watching all the free meals escape.

"Explain," Mr. Tiny snapped, digging his fingers even harder into my chest.

Harkat wobbled over to us. "I just did. He needs to drink blood much more often then a normal half vampire. This is how you found him when we escaped, but he didn't have so many meal options last time."

"Why would he not say something?" Mr. Tiny spat.

Harkat scowled back. "In case you haven't noticed, you aren't exactly the most approachable person."

Mr. Tiny pushed his hand into my chest so hard I cried out.

The pressure on my chest did not let up and I moaned in pain, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. I was sure at least a couple ribs were broken. Mr. Tiny continued his argument with Harkat and his hand slid further up my chest until his fingers were digging into the base of my throat. I saw my chance and pulled my head up, sinking my teeth into his forearm. Mr. Tiny pulled back but I hung on stubbornly, not even trying to drink just repaying him for the pain. But when his blood flooded my mouth my fangs broke free again and I stopped trying. I had gotten barely anything when Mr. Tiny ripped free. I stumbled backwards and over Mr. Tiny's shoulder Harkat mouthed "run."

I did so, crashing through the restaurant doors and stumbled out onto the street. I could barely walk and my chest ached fiercely. Mr. Tiny and Harkat were still shouting and I hoped Harkat bought me enough time to get far enough away so Mr. Tiny would have to search awhile and cool off first. But barely two blocks away I gave up and went into an alley, sitting behind a dumpster. In a puddle on the ground I gingerly pulled up my hoodie; I looked myself over and winced. My side was black and blue and running my fingers over the bruise made my side scream in pain. My chest had a handprint shaped bruise and more fingerprint bruises dotted my throat and collar. A gash on my hairline that I hadn't felt before bled sluggishly, trailing red lines down the left side of my face. The dragon was curled up on my leg shaking and I wholeheartedly agreed with it. Sirens sounded in the distance and I mimicked the dragon's position behind the dumpster. I wouldn't be running anywhere if they found me.

Enough time went by that I stopped bothering to wipe the blood off my face and it dried in a sticky mess in my hair and down my cheek and chin. When I opened my mouth the blood cracked and flaked off, falling onto my jeans so I stopped moving. Police officers ran up and down the streets, even coming into the alley but strangely they never saw me. One even looked directly at me and he only looked confused before leaving. I had hoped that even if Mr. Tiny wanted to abandon me Harkat would leave him and find me, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.

I dozed off and woke up when the sun was setting. It was a cold evening but I could only think it had nothing on the desert; but sitting on cold cement with no shirt while leaning against an even colder dumpster was not fun. I couldn't leave because the police would definitely see me then. I picked at the blood on my face, trying to take shallow breaths to lessen the pain, thinking that both Evanna and Mr. Tiny needed a lesson in how to take surprising news. I was still hungry too; I had drank enough to keep me from hunting humans right now, but by the morning I would be back at it if I wasn't too stiff to move. Whenever I was alert enough I splashed water onto my hoodie to soak it. The water sank into my wounds and while the water wasn't clean enough to heal me it helped with the pain. When I looked up again my heart nearly stopped. Mr. Tiny was walking on the other side of the main street, looking if possible more pissed off then he had in the restaurant. His head was turning from side to side and he was barging through humans like they weren't even there. I didn't see Harkat with him and my stomach churned. Maybe he had killed Harkat and was coming after me now. I watched him pause in front of a clothing store and stare at himself in the window. His reflection distorted and then melted apart as I watched, coming together to form an entirely new face. Then his clothes changed too but before I could catch a glimpse of more then a brown leather jacket and dark eyes he was swallowed up by a group of people entering the store; when the crowed cleared he was gone.

"Crap," I muttered. I soaked the hoodie for the last time and put it back on, wincing as the fabric stuck to my side. The rest of the puddle went toward getting the blood off my face and splashing some on my chest bruises before using the dumpster to stand up. I probably looked like a homeless lunatic, so no self respecting store would let me buy new clothing with the wallet. I looked at my phone and saw that both Mr. Tiny and Harkat had tried to call several times; the latest call of Harkats had been only five minutes ago. I touched the screen and sent Harkat a quick text saying "Alive" before wobbling out of the alley and looking up and down the street. The phone buzzed again and I looked at the reply.

_Where are you!' _It read.

'_Still near the restaurant. Saw Mr. Tiny and he looks livid, so relocating.' _I sent back.

'_Are you hurt badly? Mr. Tiny wouldn't believe me that I thought you were. He thinks he only knocked you around a bit.' _Harkat sent and I could practically feel the indignation in the message.

I hesitated before answering, thumbs hovering over the keypad. '_A_ _few broken ribs, bruises and a cut but otherwise fine. Pain level is under management for now.' _ I put the phone back in my pocket and straggled up the street, keeping a wary eye out for Mr. Tiny. I tried to walk normally but it was almost impossible the more my clothing dried. The phone vibrated and I fished it out of my pocket to look at the screen. The caller ID was Mr. Tinys and I watched the call go on and on. When it ended I made to put the phone away again but an idea came to me and I sent another message to Harkat. _'Text Mr. Tiny and tell him I won't answer you. Also did you change my name to Shadow in your phone?' _

'_Yes I changed it. I already told him you wouldn't answer before after the third call. That's when he left.' _Harkat replied. He sent another message directly after the first. _'You need a doctor. Your ribs could shift again and puncture a lung if you get in a fight.' _ Then another message came before I could reply. _'Mr. Tiny needs anger management classes.' _

I would have snorted if I wasn't nursing broken ribs. I typed up a quick reply. _'I will be fine. Right now a punctured lung would be the least of my worries if Mr. Tiny caught up to me. And speaking of that I need to move. I'll text again when "safe".' _ I tucked the phone back in my pocket and pulled the hood lower around the sides of my face. It wasn't to keep Mr. Tiny from noticing me, he knew exactly what I was wearing but it was to keep people from seeing the fangs that were stubbornly refusing to withdraw. Every time someone came up behind or in front I turned my head in the other direction until they passed. Scenting the air was hard when I couldn't take a deep breath without excruciating pain but I managed to identify people who came towards me pretty quickly. The pain was spreading into my shoulder and arm, making movement even harder and I hadn't even made it three streets over. I leaned against the wall and cursed. I had suffered multiple wounds far worse then this and somehow these injures were even more incapacitating. I slowly slid down the wall and managed to get out the phone again. I swiped blood out of my eyes from my head wound which had reopened and wrote a message that I hated to send. _'Can't walk anymore. He really did a number on me.' _I set the phone down on the sidewalk next to me and tried to look completely normal to the passing people.

The reply came much faster then I expected and when I looked at the screen I mentally beat myself over the head. I had sent the message to the only other number in my phone. '_I suppose you meant to send this to your cohort. Where are you?' _I didn't answer and another text came through. _'Unless you were lying to Harkat, you are in need of medical attention. Tell me where you are. Now.' _

I sent a short and to the point message. '_No.' _

'_I did not drag you out of a desert with my blood in your stomach to watch you die in a filthy Vegas alley.' _Then_. 'If you do not tell me where you are I will simply leave.' _And again._ 'You are being utterly ridiculous.' _

The last message enraged me into replying. _'Sure. I am being stupid for refusing medical help from the person who sent me off in this condition in the first place!' _ It was only after I sent the message that I got the desperation in the things Mr. Tiny had sent. Whatever twisted plan he had in mind, had me as the starring player and he couldn't very well put it into motion with me hiding in some alley. Under normal circumstances I was sure he would merely have thought about finding me and been able too, but I guessed whatever kept the police away was working on him too.

'_You were being irrational.' _

'_So beating me up was the answer? Congratulations you sound like Harrison.' _ I nearly cracked the screen with the force of that message.

'_I do not lower myself to the level of that man.' _

'_You already have! What happened in there was exactly what he did! You found out something you didn't like and acted like a child. Why would I stay with a man that seems no different then the person who locked me up and tortured me? I had nothing when I woke up. Nothing. I have no memories of nice people and so far most of the ones I've met this time around are bastards.' _That time I sent the message with shaking fingers. This was the hardest act I'd put on as Shadow and it wasn't even a lie. Harkat had really been the only decent person. Of course I wouldn't really leave, I needed to stay and figure out how to fix Mr. Tiny and the rest of my friends, but I would not put up with Mr. Tiny's unpredictable mood swings. While Harrison had been awful, he had been partially right. It was really easy to make my magic hate someone or something, and equally easy to instill fear. Even before the restaurant the dragon and I always got tense around the man and it would only be worse now. The phone remained silent and I smiled. My message was probably making Mr. Tiny think about how he could manipulate me into staying, but the end result would be he would have to act politer and rein in his anger even more. I didn't intend to keep my magic a secret forever, but I would only reveal it on my terms and when Mr. Tiny was in a very, very good mood.

"Shadow!" A quiet voice was saying from some distance away. The voice was moving from street to street, calling down each alleyway they found. It was Harkat, and there was only his footsteps. When he got to my street I responded to him with a grunt and he ran, crouching in front of me.

"Took you long enough," I said wincing when Harkat touched my ribs and chest. "How did you convince Mr. Tiny to go alone? Or did he leave us?"

Harkat sighed. "I told him that you would have run a long ways into the city so he went to look there. I knew he had done enough damage that you wouldn't have gone far. He wouldn't let me go for a long time. I haven't seen him that mad before," Harkat said almost reverently.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I should have said something."

Harkat waved me off. "I told him the truth. If he was a bit less creepy and approachable maybe this stuff wouldn't happen."

"You called him creepy?" I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Yep," Harkat said proudly.

"I bet he loved that," I said and closed my eyes. "What a first day in Vegas. We didn't even get drunk!" I mock complained.

Harkat smiled before lightly patting me on the shoulder. "There is always tomorrow. Mr. Tiny said we would have about a week. Stay here. I'll go and get some pain killers," he said and walked back up the street.

I rubbed the screen of my phone and frowned. I knew Mr. Tiny would think about his answer, but taking this long was odd. He was probably crisscrossing the city right now, either in fury or reluctant acknowledgement of his mistakes. I had given him a little bit more information about Harrison to pacify him, but I was in no mood to go into details and doubted I ever would be.

A bit later another set of footsteps walked toward me. "Go away," I said without opening my eyes. The steps stopped right in front of me and a pair of green rain boots scraped on the cement when the man crouched down. "I mean it," I hissed and cracked open my eyes.

Mr. Tiny had his head tilted and was studying me rather intently. Harkat was right. Creepy was the perfect word. "Harkat lied to me," he said almost contritely. "You didn't make it very far."

"Came to finish the job?" I asked spitefully.

Mr. Tiny arched an eyebrow. "If I wanted to kill you I would not have fed you my blood to keep you alive. I would merely have ended you right away." He sniffed. "I don't waste time in idle chit chat with people I intend to kill."

"Comforting," I said.

"It should be," Mr. Tiny said seriously. He shifted a little closer and did something that I never would have thought he would do. "Though occasionally I forget myself."

I stared at him silently. That was the closest I had ever heard him get to an apology and for a moment I caught a glimpse of the Mr. Tiny I had come to like. Perhaps wiping his memories hadn't erased everything? "Fine," I grumbled. "Though I would appreciate if you "forgot" yourself on an inanimate object next time."

Mr. Tiny's lips curled into a half smile and his old shrewdness came back in an instant. "Of course," he murmured. He tucked his watch back in his pocket; I hadn't even noticed it in his palm and reached forward to pull me upright. "I will see to your injuries at the tent. I do not wish to stay in this dirty place any longer." He stared at my grimy self and his fingers twitched.

I hid a smile and allowed Mr. Tiny to haul me up. He half carried me down the street and I looked over his shoulder, to where Harkat had vanished. "We need to get Harkat," I said.

"He will meet us back at the tent," Mr. Tiny said and his phone disappeared back into a hidden pocket. We walked in silence for a while before the tent came into sight. Harkat was already waiting outside and he took my other side, helping me to the chair he normally sat in and lowered me down. Mr. Tiny set his watch on a table and snapped his fingers. My hoodie vanished and he stared at my torso with a blank expression; I was still just as black and blue and when his fingers touched my side my teeth clicked next to his arm before he pulled away. Mr. Tiny summoned a cup to him and slit his wrist with a fingernail, letting blood flow into the cup until it was completely full. He handed me the glass and I stared at the contents with a tiny bit of revulsion, even though my fangs were completely out and aching.

"The blood will speed your healing," Mr. Tiny explained. "And perhaps I should tell you that you will no longer be able to drink from humans."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"When a vampire or vampaneze drinks from me it does not kill them like commonly believed. Instead it binds them and I together permanently. Your thirst will not be satisfied by anything but my blood and if you drink human it will poison you." Mr. Tiny smiled widely. "And do not try to hide your hunger because instead of going after humans, you will seek out me."

I stared down at the cup again and tipped it to my lips before I lost my nerve. Somehow it tasted different then when it had come directly from Mr. Tiny and it took a few seconds of sucking through my fangs before I figured it out. Before his blood had held huge amounts of magic and now it was empty. The blood still sated my hunger, but it felt lacking somehow. I emptied the cup and sagged in relief, finally being rid of the bloodlust was a wonderful feeling.

"Tomorrow you two will have the run of Vegas by yourselves," Mr. Tiny said. "I have other business to attend." He pulled out his heart shaped watch and placed it on my chest; even though I was mostly sitting up the watch did not slide off my bruises. It started to glow so brightly I looked away and stared at the ceiling. It was strange feeling my bones knit together and the pain flow down to my legs then out of my feet.

Harkat spoke up and he looked like he had just figured something out that he didn't like in the slightest. "How did they find us in the desert? They would have been driving during Mr. Tiny's shielding to catch us sleeping."

I put my head back up to stare at my friend and frowned. "I don't know," I said slowly. The implications of Harkats words were worrying. If they could find us under the protection of the most powerful man in the world, then they could find us anywhere.

"They could already be here," Harkat said. "They could have been in that restaurant watching."

"Let them come," I snarled.

"Brave words," Mr. Tiny said quietly.

"We could run," Harkat said.

"No," I snapped. "Harrison's men will keep on coming even if we run to the edge of the world. We need to show them that their presence will be met with lethal force." I grinned darkly.

Harkat rubbed his hands together. "It's been too long since I last had a fight where we are the attackers," he said gleefully.

I squeezed the cup with the last bits of Mr. Tiny's blood in it so hard that it shattered. Pieces of glass went everywhere and I ignored the tiny cuts in my palm. "They have no idea what we are capable of," I muttered.

Harkat held out his hand to me and took off the necklace providing his disguise. He rolled up his sleeve and the white string gleamed. "I'll be ready and waiting," he vowed.

I leaned back my head and let the injuries keep healing, my thoughts drifting to tomorrow and all the possibilities that lay within it. Vengeance and of course getting roaring drunk in celebration. The corners of my mouth lifted and I chuckled. Tomorrow had the makings of a fabulous day.


	7. Chapter 7- Befriending the Dragon

**A.N. ** I apologize for any mistakes!

**obviouslyincognito:** Technically he would be the old Mr. Tiny but I also think of him as new lol

**Ansy**: I'm glad you like it :D

* * *

><p>I focused on the entrance to the tent and wove my shaking fingers together, resting my head on my hands and waited for the first sunlight to peek through the doorway. Many hours had passed since I had given up on sleep; Harkat had joined me halfway through the night and together we now sat in the corner of the tent that had quickly become my bedroom of sorts. The tenseness that came before a battle settled over both of us early and I kept fidgeting, longing to rush outside and wrap my claws around throats. However, before vengeance came thought and planning. We still did not know Harrison's men kept finding us, and they were here; there was no doubt of that. I could smell them through the crack in the tent, harsh scents that filled my nostrils like burned rubber. They smelled of hate and blood. Their scents drove away the creeping exhaustion that threatened after two nights of little sleep. Harkat and I said nothing to each other, not wanting to wake Mr. Tiny and draw his unanswerable questions on us.<p>

For the first two hours I had lingered in the bathroom, staring dazedly at my pale face. A long time had passed before the feeling of cold metal around my throat vanished. I had traced the paths Harrison's knives had made over my body, knowing exactly where the blades had cut even though the bastard had been careful to keep the wounds from scarring. Another scar of my own making was hidden right by my right hip. I'd sliced open my skin and forced magic and intent into my body so violently it had healed instantly. The brief pain had been worth it, the magic rested in my skin, acting like a ward against Mr. Tiny. My memories before waking up in Harrison's care were sealed off from the man forever, unless I reopened the scar and let the magic free.

Harkat shifted from his stock still position and looked over at me. "Previously, I was thinking rationally and thought waiting for Mr. Tiny to wake up would be the ideal thing."

I raised my eyebrows. "And now?"

"My rational thinking has flown out the window," Harkat said and stood up. "We have the advantage of darkness and surprise. We can kill them while they rest." He rubbed his hands together. "I am a Little Person and you are…something. Anyway we are stronger, faster and more dangerous then those humans. Don't you want to shed that fake air of humanity you hold around yourself for even a bit?"

I tucked my hands under my legs to hide the emergence of claws and sighed. "You have no idea how much." Harkat wouldn't be able to imagine the sheer annoyance of not being able to use magic on a daily basis. It was an itch wherever the dragon went, a burning under my skin and a restlessness that would not be satisfied with normal activity. The illusions strained to contain my broken wings and sometimes when I caught a glimpse of my reflection my eyes would flicker back to swirling blue from a moment. I stood up and stared at the gap in the tent, leaning forward as if I could just appear outside without moving.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Harkat asked playfully. "If you are at all worried I bet Mr. Tiny would approve of the bloodshed at least."

I cocked my head and growled lowly. "I don't need his permission." I curled my hand around the entrance to the tent and exchanged a look with Harkat before ripping back the fabric and crouching on the ground, the Little Person standing over me with a knife in each hand. We were unable to be seen by anyone outside yet, as we had not left the tent. There were the usual cars in the street and people walking up and down the sidewalk, clutching coffee in their hands. But here and there were Harrison's men, scattered among the other humans like black clouds. Oh they had made an effort to blend in, but holding coffee and yawning convincingly was not enough to disguise the bulge in their pockets or the glint of steel up their sleeves. "Scattered," I muttered gleefully. "This is too easy." I ducked out of the tent and motioned to Harkat to stay on the sidewalk while I crossed the street. I used the few people as blockades, gaining valuable ground before the idiots even realized.

The closest man was sipping at coffee and checking his watch when I lunged for him, closing my clawed hands around his waist and dragging him down to the ground. His head banged off a wall and the coffee spilled all over his front, drawing a pained scream as his skin burned. I leered at him when he tried to pull out a gun and ripped the weapon out of his hands, driving a knee into his groin before I crushed the barrel of the gun with one hand. The goon had time to widen his eyes in panic before I ripped open his throat. Ordinarily I would have left him there to bleed out and die, but I grabbed him by the foot and pulled him down the street, leaving behind a trail of blood. People rushed away from me, screaming and babbling into phones that they dropped when I looked at them directly. I laughed softly and closed in on the second man who had his gun already out and pointed at my chest. His eyes were blown wide with fear, but there was an air of determination around him. The dragon purred on my skin and I locked eyes with the man, silently daring him to fire; the gun went off but I was already moving the bullet flying by harmlessly, my claws hooking into skin before the man could fire again. His body jerked as I sank my claws into his chest and buried my fangs into his shoulder. He died too quickly and I dragged a man by each hand, pausing to see how Harkat was faring.

I shouldn't have worried; Harkat had slain more men then I had, but he had taken no time to relish the kills. Two men lay dead at his feet and his knives blurred into the body of another even as I watched. Blood splattered against his face and he turned to gaze at me, eyes alight. I wandered over to him, dodging humans and whispered in his ear. "I will leave one alive."

"Why?" Harkat asked.

"So he can run back to Harrison and tell him exactly what happened," I hissed and leapt away. The third man I had already chosen, but I took my time stalking him around the tent. When he was right in front of the entrance I jumped at him, sending us flying backwards back inside the tent. I punched the man in the face and snarled, shoving my fangs into his face before throwing him into the weapon rack. The man clattered to the floor and I snatched him by the arms, swinging him around in the air and back outside, following with a bound that landed me precisely on his chest. We stared at each other in equal disgust and I wrapped my hands around his throat, pulling his head up at an awkward angle. "You are all fools," I snarled. When the man tried to speak I clamped a hand over his mouth and nose until he turned blue; only when he ceased struggling did I let him take a breath. "Did you not learn your lesson when I escaped? Did you think I would tolerate pursuit? Everyone that comes after us will be ripped apart without a thought." My voice was deep and melting between human and dragon. "Except you," I trailed a finger down the mans cheek and smiled. "You are the lucky messenger." I forced him around so he could see Harkat killing the rest of the men with no effort. "Do you see that? Describe it to Harrison. Tell him how your companions died." I bit down on the mans ear and he screamed. "Unfortunately, your master isn't the forgiving type," I said pursing my lips. "He will probably kill you for failing to catch me."

"You're a monster," the man choked out between heaving breaths.

I smiled and pulled up a sentence from long ago. "Yes," I said nastily. "But I'm only a baby one." I let the man go as he fell unconscious and wiped my hands clean on his shirt. I emptied his gun and scattered the bullets, then took his knife and snapped it in half. Harkat ran up to me and also cleaned his weapons on the fallen man. "Are they all dead?" I asked, watching my nails return to normal size.

Before Harkat responded a clapping sound startled me and I whipped around. Mr. Tiny was standing just outside the tent, bringing his hands together in resounding applause. He looked like he might cry from happiness. "Oh, I am going to _love_ having you two around!" he said in delight, looking at the carnage on the street. He took one step and appeared between Harkat and I, slinging an arm around our shoulders. "Let's get you two cleaned up," he chuckled, staring at the spots of blood on my hands.

"Hands in the air!" A voice cried at the same time a whistling sound echoed in my left ear. A spot of red appeared on Harkats shirt and in a split second a dart was embedded deep into his shoulder. A pain in my arm told me I had a dart too and I wrenched it out without looking. Harkat swayed on the spot, looking confused and I searched windows and rooftops for the shooter. Mr. Tiny pulled us around and caught another dart in the bottom of his jacket. He ignored it in favor of dragging Harkat down the street while tugging me along with his other hand.

"You underestimate us," the voice said again and this time it sounded like it was coming through a loud speaker. "All three of you think we are fools."

I blinked fuzzily; the ground was heaving underneath my feet and I tried to compensate by leaning the other way. Apparently that was wrong though because Mr. Tiny yanked me the other way. Harkat was completely out of it, hanging like a doll in Mr. Tiny's grip.

"The monster and the boy belong to us old man," the voice continued. "Shadow may have some strength at his disposal, but it is no more then a vampire. We measured his speed and yes, he was a bit faster then a normal vampire but that is nothing spectacular."

I laughed under my breath. I felt like sicking up from the tumbling world but I had figured out where the guy was speaking from. I stared at a green car to the left and ducked out from under Mr. Tiny's arm, stumbling toward the car. The voice continued, berating Mr. Tiny for helping us, listing everything that would happen to him when we were brought in. I didn't know if the guy knew that all his men had been killed or if he didn't care either way. I reached the car and placed my palms on the window to steady myself before trying the handle; surprisingly it was unlocked and I threw open the door, noting with some distant dread that a string had been tied to the doorframe and led deep into the car. There was nothing in the car except a machine sitting on the driver's side that played the guys voice. I had a split second to stare at the empty vehicle before a clicking sound betrayed the real intent of the car. I was such an idiot.

The car burst apart in a rush of fire and pieces of metal and I was blasted into the air, metal slicing into my clothing and skin. I hit the cement, rolling across the ground and onto debris that cut into my stomach. Flaming pieces of seat leather fell around me and the steering wheel, or at least a piece of it hit the sidewalk next to my head. I tried to roll on my back but a sharp pain in my side made me moan in pain; I twisted my head awkwardly to see and nearly fainted. A curled piece of metal was sticking out of my stomach and another piece was deep in the front of my right thigh. My other leg was smoking and I couldn't see out of my left eye. It wasn't any of that which bothered me the most however; it was the dragon. I could feel the dragon was pinned on my thigh right through his left front leg and another wound had opened up my left arm in sympathy. The dragon started to thrash around frantically and the wound on my arm opened up further. I couldn't feel any pain except on my face and it felt like it was on fire.

Harkat fell to his knees beside me and I stared at him silently. His lips were moving but I couldn't hear what he was saying. I didn't understand how he was walking around. Hadn't the dart taken him out? The Little Person beat the ground next to me and I tried to say I was alright, it wasn't that bad but my mouth wouldn't move. I couldn't even move my eyes anymore. Then Mr. Tiny appeared and my fingers twitched, trying to run away. If he looked at my wounds he would see the dragon and it would be over.

Mr. Tiny patted Harkat on the shoulder and moved to my other side, gently sliding his hands under my limp body. When he lifted me up my body burst into pain and while I couldn't make a sound a puff of air escaped. My head fell back over his arm and I looked at the world upside down, staring blankly at Harkat. All around police cars were pulling up, but Mr. Tiny strode through the mass of blinking lights without being stopped. A gun went off and I flinched, wishing the dragon would stop fighting. It was with some interest that I noticed we were not going towards the tent; instead we were heading out of the city completely. Harkat grabbed onto Mr. Tiny's jacket sleeve and the world spun into blackness.

We appeared in a place that had enough snow to go up to Mr. Tiny's knees. But we were only outside for a second then Mr. Tiny walked over hardwood floors and up a flight of steps before setting me down on a pristine white blanketed bed. I felt bad for staining the sheets with blood and soot. The door slammed shut and Harkat touched the uninjured side of my face, patting me. I wished I could let him know I was still here.

Mr. Tiny shrugged off his jacket and approached the bed, surveying me from several angles before Harkat said something angrily. Mr. Tiny snapped something back and then rolled up his sleeves, grabbing a knife out of the air and slitting his wrist. He held the open wound above my throat and blood dripped onto my lips, but didn't go down. Mr. Tiny held his wrist closer and forced my mouth open wider, stroking my throat until his blood went down. Instantly I sucked in a breath and coughed loudly.

"Shadow?" Harkat asked. "Can you hear me?"

I tried to say yes but it came out a in a garbled mess.

Mr. Tiny cut open my shirt with the knife and stared at the metal in my stomach then wrapped his hand around it. Harkat placed his own hands on my shoulder and pushed me down into the bed. I wanted to tell them that there was no need; I couldn't feel anything except my face. However, when Mr. Tiny pulled out the metal it woke up the pain and the dragon resumed its frantic movements. I tossed on the bed with muscles that finally remembered how to work and threw off Harkat easily. Mr. Tiny tossed the metal on the floor without looking back and started to go toward my thigh.

"No!" I cried pleadingly.

Mr. Tiny paused with one hand over the metal. "If its modesty you are worried about I don't think this is the time." Without waiting he ripped off my pant leg and I closed my eyes in defeat. There was nothing but silence until the pain that came with metal being pulled out of your leg and a sickening lurch in my stomach.

I opened my eyes and saw nothing but the room; I was standing by the door behind Harkat and Mr. Tiny who were still crouched over…myself? My body was lying on the bed, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. My chest had ceased moving entirely and now Harkat was shaking me violently, screaming in my ear. Mr. Tiny had his wrist back at my mouth, and pressed two glowing fingers against the side of my neck. I ran over to them and tried to grab Mr. Tiny's arm but when I touched him the man did nothing to give away he had felt my touch. I waved my hands in front of his face but he didn't even blink. I tried to grip Harkat by the shoulders, but nothing I did would move the Little Person. "HEY!" I screamed in Mr. Tiny's face. In frustration I balled my hand into a fist and tried to punch him in the face. Nothing happened.

Mr. Tiny removed his fingers from my neck and the red glow faded away. He stared at Harkat and shook his head. "The boy is dead," he said. He stepped back and stood in the corner of the room silently, walking right through me.

Harkat wailed and punched the side of the bed.

I stared at myself. Blood stained the sheets and my face was swiftly paling. My injuries looked even more gross from this angle; I had a horrible gash running down the side of my face, right over my eye. The wound in my stomach was gaping and the one in my leg looked equally nasty. My eyes were mostly closed, but a slit of bright blue shone through the crack in my eyelids. I looked closer and gasped; the illusions had fallen on my eyes. Then I looked for my crumpled wings underneath my body and failed to find them. I whipped around and dove at Mr. Tiny who had his head bowed and grabbed the front of his jacket, trying to shake him. "I'm not dead!" I screeched. "You could try harder bastard!" Mr. Tiny did nothing and I turned on Harkat who had his upper body now thrown over me. "Where are my wings idiot! If I was dead they would be here!"

"We have to go," Mr. Tiny said eventually and appeared beside Harkat, resting a hand on his shoulder.

The Little Person had been staring into space with me sitting next to him, but he stirred and looked up at Mr. Tiny blankly. "Where are we going?"

"Wherever the wind takes us," Mr. Tiny said. "We will give Shadow a vampire's burial." A ball of fire took shape in his hand and my insides froze. If Mr. Tiny burned down the house, I really _would_ be dead.

Harkat touched his forehead to mine and tears rushed down his face, dripping onto the gash. I felt his tears on my own skin and touched them, looking at the drops on my forehead. Then he stood up and let Mr. Tiny guide him out of the room and back down the stairs.

I chased after them, running through Mr. Tiny when he paused at the front door. I picked up a lamp and threw it at Mr. Tiny; it bounced just short of him and cracked on the floor. But the man didn't even look around. Mr. Tiny rolled the fire between his fingers for a split second then tossed it at the steps. The fire burst into life, swiftly spreading on the old wood and began to climb up the steps. He and Harkat stepped outside but the Little Person suddenly turned around and made a dash for the front door again.

"We can't leave him here," he sobbed.

Mr. Tiny wrapped Harkat up and began to drag him away, with the Little Person screaming and kicking the entire time.

There was another tug in my stomach and I was pulled up the flaming steps, back into the bedroom and into my body. I sucked in a breath, chest heaving until I inhaled smoke and coughed. My injuries were starting to heal. As I watched skin closed over the hole in my stomach and thigh, leaving behind puckered scars. My face ached but I could feel it healing over too. I quickly reapplied the illusions on my eyes and went to the window, smashing through the glass before leaping down one story to the grass below. Harkat saw me first and his mouth fell open. He slapped Mr. Tiny in the side of the head and scrambled toward me as the house became an inferno behind me. When Mr. Tiny turned around his eyes widened just a bit before narrowing. Then I was tackled to the ground by Harkat. We were only pulled up when Mr. Tiny finally made his way over to us and yanked us to our feet.

Mr. Tiny looked me up and down and frowned. "You were dead," he said.

I grinned. "You can't get rid of me that easily!" I said slyly.

Harkat spluttered and poked me in the chest. "You had no pulse!"

I shifted from foot to foot. "I will be happy to explain, but could I get some pants first?"

Mr. Tiny regained his composure and smirked. "Of course," he said and waved his hand. "Now explain."

"You know those people who say they had an out of body experience?" I questioned. "Well, unless I was hallucinating, I just had one." The blank expressions I got made me sigh. "I appeared in the bedroom, but I was still lying on the bed too. Mr. Tiny was checking my pulse and then he said I was dead."

Harkat blinked and circled me twice, then scratched his head. "I don't know…"

I crossed my arms. "Mr. Tiny said that he was going to give me a vampire burial and then he had to drag you down the front yard."

"Could you not speak to us?" Mr. Tiny asked disbelievingly.

"Nope," I said and blushed. "I may or may not have tried to punch you in the face. I screamed too, quite loudly and none of you did anything. I even threw a lamp."

Now Mr. Tiny was looking extremely interested. "What returned you back to your body?"

"I'm not sure."

"Think," Mr. Tiny hissed.

"I don't know!" I said.  
>Mr. Tiny came way too close and tipped my head back to stare at the new scar lining my face and his fingers lit up briefly. Something like an electric shock, but also nothing like what the color had done to me raced up my spine and onto my chin. Mr. Tiny jerked back and his eyes gleamed. "Interesting," he said speculatively. "Ah, but everything worked out in the end did it not?" He rubbed his hands together and there was a brief moment of dizziness before we were back in the tent. Mr. Tiny sat down in one of the cushy chairs and stared at me without blinking.<p>

"What?" I asked defensively.

"Nothing," Mr. Tiny said and kept watching.

I took five more minutes of the nonstop watching until even Harkat was looking between us. "Would you stop it!" I said.

"No."

I stomped over to my corner of the tent and pulled several blankets over myself to block out Mr. Tiny. But the blankets were pulled back and I was once again forced to endure it. I was so mad I turned on Mr. Tiny, baring my fangs at him. "Stop it!" I shouted.

"I am waiting," Mr. Tiny "explained."

"For what?" I snarled.

"I'm not quite sure yet," Mr. Tiny said and propped his head on his hand.

I stared at Harkat in disbelief and he shrugged, gesturing to the exit. I agreed mentally and walked toward it. But of course I was pulled back to the rug. Now I was beyond angry and stomped over to the magician, lashing out with every bit of strength I had at his nose. "I'm not a test subject!" I growled. My fist collided with Mr. Tiny's hand when he brought it up to shield himself.

"Defensive," Mr. Tiny murmured and flexed the hand I had hit. "Strong too." He didn't even look angry. "I am sure you have had quite enough of being studied," he conceded.

"Yes," I said furiously.

Mr. Tiny swiftly changed the conversation and addressed both Harkat and I. "Are the nightmares getting any better?"

Harkat and I exchanged looks of surprise. I hadn't expected Mr. Tiny to pay any serious attention to our nightly suffering. "No," we said together. "Not at all."

Mr. Tiny nodded. "I will have to do something about them." He stood up and grinned at us both. "Now, I may begin to get the business done that I came here to do. You may stay here or come with me, it does not matter which."

I thought about it before nodding. "I'll go," I said. I was tired, had just come back to life and was wearing horrible pants, but I wasn't quite ready to call the day done. Harkat stepped up beside me and also voted to come along. Mr. Tiny didn't give an outward reaction about our choice but I could smell his pleasure. For whatever reason he actually enjoyed our hopelessness in getting into trouble; maybe he was thinking we would cause even more mess wherever we were going.

"Follow," Mr. Tiny said and settled back into his usual quiet aloofness as we fell into step behind him. I stayed directly behind his right shoulder and Harkat walked on his left. There was silence for several minutes as we crossed streets and dodged harassed humans. Only a few of them gave us second glances and I recognized one or two of them as werewolves. Whenever one of the non-humans made eye contact with either Mr. Tiny or I they flinched. After that I stared at the ground so hard that I barely heard Mr. Tiny when he spoke again. "Most magicians use illusion to pull off their tricks," Mr. Tiny said. "But I have caught wind of a pair who may have some magic at their disposal. I do not think they were born with it. Most likely they got a hold of an object with magic in it." Mr. Tiny looked back at me and his eyes shone. "Unfortunately for them most objects like that are inherently corrupted and will bend their owner's minds into insanity."

"Fun," Harkat muttered.

"So are we going to kill them?" I asked.

"I haven't decided," Mr. Tiny said happily. "The mind is a fascinating place and to loose a pair so tainted would be a loss. I enjoy studying humans and non-humans minds to see how each one works. The sheer number of ridiculous fears and desires to manipulate are delightful. Non-humans of course are a bit trickier to read, but not one has withstood me." Again he looked back at me and this time I was the one who wanted to flinch away. I broke eye contact and stared at the sidewalk; not completely missing the satisfied smile that crossed Mr. Tiny's face. "However, while this should be an interesting experience the mind I truly want to explore is Harrisons'."

I stiffened and nearly tripped over a crack in the road. "Why?" I asked.

"Because, while most non-humans are idiots they are powerful," Mr. Tiny said. "If Harrison knows enough to capture two then he should also know that killing either of you would be unwise. Bringing you to his side and harnessing your abilities would have been the smarter path to whatever he wanted. Which I assume is power."

Harkat snorted loudly. "He tried to "harness" our powers all right. He wanted me to be his strong man. I said no and the consequences were not pleasant."

"I was to be his pet," I said simply. "I refused."

"And again there he went wrong," Mr. Tiny said like he was delivering a life lesson. "He should have kept after you. Delivering pain when you want someone on your side isn't always the answer, especially in the case of vampires and other non-humans. I take it both of you took a lot of pain?" Neither of us answered but he continued anyway. "Trust is another way. If he had taken you both in, helped you, fed you and generally been kind, then there would have been a higher chance of accepting his offer." Mr. Tiny looked faintly disgusted. "If he had delivered the offers in a different light. "Pet" is such a demeaning term."

Harkat snickered quietly and I looked over at him questioningly. "You would make the worst pet in the world," he said and laughed harder. "You'd probably shred their curtains, chew holes in expensive clothing and then eventually figure out structural weaknesses in the house and bring it down."

I kept a straight face. "You forgot about using antiques as claw sharpeners."

"And constantly wanting outside and then back in," Harkat giggled.

I smiled but before I could come back with something else Mr. Tiny shushed us.

"We are here," Mr. Tiny said. "While we will not go inside until tomorrow I want to get a good look outside."

I looked up at the building and frowned. It looked like an old warehouse that had been converted into something the Cirque Du Freak would have used if they had a permanent location. The windows were fitted with heavy velvet drapes; a different color on each floor. The entrance had two sets of huge doors proclaiming the pair's stage names in large black letters, but the words themselves I couldn't read. They seemed to be in a different language, but it was in none that I recognized. People were lined up outside, buying tickets but not going inside. Mr. Tiny walked toward the ticket booth, but I stayed back while he got in line, somehow cutting to the front without anyone noticing. I scanned all the windows I could see and saw faces peeking out from behind a few of the curtains. One little girl stared at me and her tiny hand pressed against the window as she waved to me with the other, her face lit up with a bright smile. Then she was gone. Mr. Tiny came back and held up three tickets.

"The show is tomorrow night at eleven," Mr. Tiny said. "Until then let us go back." He touched both our elbows and we spun back to the tent.

The rest of the evening I couldn't help but think, though the girl had looked happy enough there had been sadness in her eyes that did not fit such a child. I went to bed, dreading the night and closed my eyes, pulling the blanket over my head to block out the sound of Harkats breathing. Maybe the nightmares would spare me tonight.

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><p>R&amp;R please? :D :D<p> 


	8. Chapter 8- The Twins

**A.N. I have the next chapter ready and it will be up Christmas morning ;) **

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><p>I dug through the fridge, nudging aside random cans while trying to be quiet as possible. It was three in the morning and the night<p>

mares had not been kind. I knew if I cared to look in the mirror I would see the usual pale face. The nightmares had left me thirsty, but the water and milk in the fridge made me want to puke. Instead I pulled out a small bottle of blood that Mr. Tiny had made up last night. I only took a few swallows every day, and I really didn't need any now but it was the only thing I could think of keeping down at the moment. I almost dropped the bottle when another wave of tremors ran through me. I sat at the table and managed to unscrew the lid before taking a long drink. Harkat was lasting longer then me this time and I watched him sleep on the couch rather enviously. When I closed my eyes flashes of falling metal collars and bloody knives danced in front of me; finally settling on Harrison's face which always leered at me while wearing a necklace of blue feathers.

"Nightmare?"

I jumped and looked up. Mr. Tiny was sitting across from me at the table, lightly drumming his fingers on the table. I hadn't heard him enter and wondered if he had even walked. "Yes," I said and held the bottle tighter.

Mr. Tiny leaned back in the chair and it creaked loudly. "You should not allow Harrison to rule your dreams." His fingers kept drumming infuriatingly. "Dreams are for discovery not terror."

"It may be easy for you, but most people can't disregard torture," I said crossly.

"He tortured you?" Mr. Tiny said and his fingers ceased moving. "The collar was not the entirety of what he did?"

I glared sourly at Mr. Tiny. "You mean being electrified until you can't move or scream isn't enough?" I pushed my chair back from the table and leaned across toward Mr. Tiny. "He cut me open again and again. He let me heal every time, always careful not to leave scars. The worst he did I will never, ever tell you!" I dug my nails into the table until they bent and barely regained enough control to sit back down. Over Mr. Tiny's shoulder I had seen several of the many trinkets he kept on shelves start to shake.

Mr. Tiny's fingers started to move again but this time so slowly they didn't make a sound. He was staring at me so hard I guessed he wanted to dig around inside my head, but was restraining himself from trying. "They knew what you were capable of," he said as more of a statement.

"Yes," I said grimly. "But Harrison didn't take everything into consideration." I scratched a nail along a line in the table and shrugged. "I don't know how they knew what I could…do though. And I still don't know how they keep finding us."

Mr. Tiny ran an eye up and down my neck and then got up from the table. "Tilt your head," he ordered. When I didn't immediately move he grabbed a fistful of my hair and none too gently pulled my head sideways. He ran his finger along the part of my neck that the collar had been on and aha'd. "There it is," he murmured. With the same hand he clamped it over my mouth and sliced into my neck with the other.

I let out a shout muffled into nothing by Mr. Tiny's palm and bit down on his fingers until he pulled away. The stinging pain vanished and I clapped a hand to my neck, rubbing away traces of blood. "What the hell?" I exclaimed.

Mr. Tiny held up a small metal object between his forefinger and thumb. "A tracker," he explained. "Crude but effective." He set the tracker on the table and nudged it toward me.

I had no wish to keep the thing so I did the next logical move. I brought my hand down flat on the tracker. When it still remained intact I growled and dropped it on the floor, grinding my heel into it until nothing but metal dust remained. I finally flopped back into the chair, breathing hard and sweating from the anger I had brought down upon it. My fists were clenched under the table and once again a few of Mr. Tiny's precious objects were vibrating. "You have no idea what it was like," I muttered. "So don't even try to pretend you understand." I pointed an accusing finger at Mr. Tiny. "I don't even know why I am staying with you. For all I know you could turn out just like Harrison and slap a collar on me too."

Mr. Tiny rolled his eyes. "I have no intention of harming either of you. Would I have put up with all of your shenanigans otherwise?" He wove his fingers together and met my gaze squarely. "I am hoping you have unleashed the extent of your troubles."

"Not even close," I said.

"Then tell me about them. There is nothing I have not seen nor done in my lifetime." Mr. Tiny's lips quirked upward. "And that has been quite a long time."

I squinted suspiciously at Mr. Tiny and shook my head. "I'm not ready," I said. Someday, yes I would reveal magic, but not my wings. "I don't know if I ever will be."

"Well we have time ahead of us," Mr. Tiny said and rolled his watch between his fingers; I hadn't seen him pull it out of his pocket. "Nothing will surprise me." He stood up and pushed his chair back into the table. "Now I do believe we are long overdue for sampling Las Vegas in all its glory." He nodded to Harkat and smiled in a creepy, but almost fond way. "Get some food and we shall go out. Leave your dear friend to sleep."

"It's three-thirty in the morning," I said.

"All the best things happen at night, do they not?" Mr. Tiny said.

I grabbed a soda and some toast and followed Mr. Tiny outside. The night air was chilly, but not too bad. Buildings rose above us, surrounding the moon that was almost full. Under the illusion my dragon eyes swept the streets, searching for any signs of Harrison or other supernatural creatures; and my broken wings fluttered slightly. I had a matter of days; maybe a week before revealing magic would become a matter of sanity. Merging with the dragon had not lessened my need for the magic to be balanced out by Mr. Tiny in the slightest and every morning I subconsciously fought the illusions a little more, seeking to break free and run rampant. It was only fed by my nightly fear. I took the lead and walked down an alley, using a fire escape to start climbing to the roof of a building. When I was near the top I looked down and my toes curled around the metal edge; I had neglected to put on shoes. The idea that I could fall and die, but should be able to fly made me angry.

"You don't fear falling? Good." Mr. Tiny stood directly behind me for a moment, uncomfortably close before he maunevered past and continued up the fire escape.

I followed and stood on the edge of the roof. Here the buildings were so close together that I could jump from rooftop to rooftop if I wished. "Why are we here?" I asked.

"I enjoy the moon," Mr. Tiny said and sat on the edge of the roof so his legs dangled out into open space.

I had an itch to leap out across the rooftops but I stayed put, staring at the top of Mr. Tiny's head. "The moon?" I said. "Why?" Mr. Tiny didn't answer so I crouched on the ledge, ready to jump away if I needed too and peered around at his face. Still no answer was forthcoming so I stared at the moon too. I imagined flying high into the sky, looking down at the city and its maze of streets and lights. I would be able to find Harrison easily and pull him high into the sky, then drop and catch him feet from impact. I would play with him like that over and over until I tired of it and let him crack onto the sidewalk.

"The one who captured you will die," Mr. Tiny announced out of the blue.

I stared sideways at him. "I thought you wanted to study him?"

"Yes."

"Then why-?"

"I have my own reasons, now quiet," Mr. Tiny said and waved his hand. It passed right by my face and then a necklace appeared in his hands It was a curled piece of metal, and tiny runes decorated the entire thing; the chain was gold, but only the metal part glowed crimson. "You and Harkat will wear these when you go to the show," he said. "The Twins have a way of bending people's minds and this will protect your dear sanity." He slipped it over my head and a pressure behind my eyelids made me want to rip it off, but before my hands reached the chain the pressure stopped completely. Mr. Tiny looked satisfied and I tucked the metal underneath my shirt. The metal was cold and even when I reached under my shirt to cup the necklace and warm it up it stayed stubbornly icy.

"Er, thanks," I said uncertainly. I could see Mr. Tiny wearing a chain just like the one I wore, so I highly doubted all the necklace did was keep our heads protected. Mr. Tiny certainly wouldn't need help with that.

"Come," Mr. Tiny said without acknowledging my thanks. "It is time we head back." He made for the fire escape and had both feet on the first step before I spoke up.

"Want me to show you another way down?" I asked.

Mr. Tiny frowned. "The fire escape is perfectly sufficient," he said.

"Yeah," I shrugged. "But my way is _much_ more fun." I had stayed crouched on the ledge the entire time and now I stood up, and walked off the ledge backwards into the air. As I fell I latched onto the first windowsill, stopping my fall until I dropped from floor to floor easily. When I looked up Mr. Tiny was staring down at me with a blank expression on his face. He pulled back and I shrugged, continuing down until I touched the sidewalk. The lingering idea that Mr. Tiny looked worried stayed at the back of my head until we got back to the tent. Right away I pushed past Harkat and shook him awake, ignoring the flailing limbs. I grabbed onto him and pulled the Little Person into a rib crushing hug, trying to stop the tremors I could feel coursing through him.

"That's it," Mr. Tiny announced.

"What?" I asked over Harkats shoulder, more then a little annoyed. "Are we too much of a bother?"

"No," Mr. Tiny snapped before his temper cooled. "You two should be suffering from far greater side effects then nightmares. If everything you told me is true and the extent of your tortures was that high you both shouldn't be carrying on with this much ease."

"Nightmares aren't exactly what I would call easy," I growled.

Mr. Tiny shook his head. "You misunderstand me. There should be fear besides the nightmares. I may not have fear, but I understand it enough to know that you both should have a lot more then you do. You Shadow should never have agreed to come with me so easily; another strange man should have sent you running the other direction. Neither of you show aversion to touch or anything else. I believe you are repressing the memories."

"If we were doing that there wouldn't be nightmares," I said fiercely and settled Harkat back onto the couch.

"That's because you aren't doing a very good job. You slip the moment your mind relaxes," Mr. Tiny explained. "The only way to completely heal your minds is to stop and work through human emotions." He leveled me with his gaze and I almost pressed back into the couch cushions. "Are you really thinking about what happened and dealing with it like you should be doing?"

"Yes," I lied.

"No," Mr. Tiny said resignedly. "You aren't. Now that I understand what is going on I know what will happen. If you both don't stop and deal with it, the nightmares will continue to increase in violence until you physically harm yourselves while asleep. The lack of sleep will only get worse until neither of you can function. Then the memories will not be contained and you will be overwhelmed while wild from sleep deprivation." He sounded almost sorrowful. "By then you may go completely insane."

"What do you suggest then?" Harkat spoke up, sounding sarcastic. Dark circles under his eyes gave away just how tired he was. "Do we all sit in a circle and share our pain while holding hands?" His eyes narrowed. "I don't know about you Shadow, but I am not in the mood for story time."

"Neither am I," I said. While I missed full nights of restful sleep, I was not going to open up to Mr. Tiny at the present time. Not until I fully gathered enough information to figure out his reaction to magic.

"We will deal with this in a couple days," Mr. Tiny decided. "When we are at a more peaceful place." He stared at both of us in turn, making sure we understood the weight of his next words. "But we _will_ be working this out." He added with a faintly annoyed expression. "I tire of hearing screams in the night."

My fists clenched and I exchanged a bitter look with Harkat. "I'm so sorry we are such a nuisance!" I spat. "We shall just pack our bags and leave then, shall we?" I helped Harkat up and we both faced Mr. Tiny, staring him down with fury. I had no more tolerance for Mr. Tiny and it was hard to remember why I was sticking around in the first place. The side long glances when we did something unsatisfactory, the frowns and eye twitches when we spoke above a whisper was enough to drive anyone nuts. Sure he wasn't beating us up anymore, but that was all. "I'm sorry that we have emotions and can't shrug off what happened to us so easily! I'm sorry that we are too loud, and don't perform under your standards every second of the day! And I am even sorrier that I ever came with you after escaping Harrison!" I reached under my shirt and yanked off the necklace which was burning hot and threw it at Mr. Tiny; it bounced off his chest and landed in his lap. "We aren't puppets you can manipulate!"

"You cannot leave," Mr. Tiny said flatly and his fingertips glowed. He didn't look that mad, not yet but he seemed to building up to righteous anger.

I waved my hands in the air. "What are you going to do? Slap us in chains? Maybe put a collar on me for good measure?" I turned around and stalked toward the door. A hand closed on my shoulder and I turned around, whipping a knife out of my jacket to press it under Mr. Tiny's chin. A drop of blood appeared on the very tip of the blade and I dug it a little deeper, glaring deep into Mr. Tiny's eyes. The man never flinched, which only fueled my fury. "Why do you keep us around if our every movement is frustrating?" I questioned angrily. When Mr. Tiny opened his mouth I cut him off swiftly. "You'd better think long and hard about what you say, or I will leave and you will never see me again!"

"Where would you go?" Mr. Tiny asked swiftly.

I twisted the knife, gripping the hilt of the weapon so hard my knuckles turned white. "Anywhere," I said. The dragon was sprawled out on my back, writhing in frustration along with me. Harkat was off to the side, watching the exchange with keen eyes. It appeared he was ready to run with me if things went bad.

Mr. Tiny inched a little closer, tilting his head to the side so the knife slid closer to his jugular. With one hand he reached out and patted my shoulder, ignoring the tiny flinch I gave and held up the necklace I'd thrown at him. "I don't offer protection to many. Both of you will be under my guard for as long as you live." Then, with a movement faster I could follow he knocked the weapon out of my hand, spun me around and pinned me to his chest, ignoring my attempts to kick him in the crotch. His strength was overwhelming and I knew without a doubt he could have crushed my ribs without exerting himself at all. My feet pummeled his legs hard enough to snap bone but Mr. Tiny didn't even blink.

"Let him go!" Harkat bellowed and rushed at Mr. Tiny.

Mr. Tiny snapped his fingers and Harkat froze, only his eyes moving back and forth wildly. He dragged me away from the frozen Little Person a few feet before I managed to slip an arm free.

I slammed my forearm back into Mr. Tiny's nose and his head snapped back, but his grip did not waver. He started to pull me out of the tent and I hooked a leg around the entrance to the tent, yanking us both to a stop. My muscles burned as Mr. Tiny slowly increased the force he was using to pull me away, until I felt like my leg would break in half. My knee gave way and the sudden release of pressure made Mr. Tiny stagger backwards; I went limp in his arms, head flopping down on top of the arm wrapped around my chest. This tactic had worked on Evanna before, and I could only hope it did now. I was rewarded with Mr. Tiny loosening his grip, staring down at me and I burst back into life, using his momentary lapse to wriggle out from under his arm, whip around and claw his face before bolting toward Harkat. I touched the Little Person on the arm and he came back to life; together we ran for the door and I grabbed my pack on the way out, dodging right past Mr. Tiny who was touching his bloodied face and out onto the street. While I did want to leave, this was part of the plan to see just how tolerant Mr. Tiny would be toward us in the long run. We were halfway up the street when I looked back and gulped. Mr. Tiny was standing on the sidewalk, watching us run with narrowed eyes. He took one step forward just as we rounded a corner.

"Faster," Harkat wheezed.

"Let me carry you," I gasped back. "I can run faster then you." The Little Person nodded and I scooped him up, pausing until his arms wrapped around my neck, holding my pack in place and then I ran. My bare feet dug into the sidewalk, carrying us along on the brink of flitting speed. I wanted to go even faster, but I couldn't, not when Mr. Tiny was following. The pack banged into my ribs with each step, and I was glad I had taken precautions. I had two bottles of blood inside, along with a bit of cash.

"He could have caught us already," Harkat said in my ear and clutched my back when I nearly careened into a pole, knocking aside several people.

"I know," I said. "He is probably playing with us." Then another thought hit me. "Did he take out your tracker?" I yelped.

"Tracker?" Harkat asked.

I groaned mentally. "This morning he found a tracker in my neck. I'm guessing you have one too. But I suppose we got in an argument too quickly." I gradually slowed and then stopped on a busy intersection, staring down the cars as they zipped past. "We are idiots," I mumbled. "Harrison was probably waiting for us to get separated."

"Go, go!" Harkat said and pounded on my shoulders. He sounded panicky and I saw what was causing his fear half a second later. Black cars with tinted windows were starting to mix in with the taxi's and all of them slowed just a bit when they passed us.

I shrugged Harkat off. "We need to get it out," I said.

Harkat tilted his head and screwed up his face. "Do it quickly," he said. "Then we can run for the highway and loose both them and Mr. Tiny."

I placed my hands on Harkats neck and thumbed over his skin, trying to find the telltale bump. After a minute of struggling I found it right under his chin; it wasn't as deep as mine which was good. I sliced into his neck and wiped away the blood once, only taking a second to flick out the tracker onto the ground. Harkat clapped a hand over his neck to stop the bleeding and stamped the tracker into the sidewalk. "Alright?" I asked and Harkat nodded. I hefted him back onto my shoulders and took off again, heading for the closest highway. The black cards went back and forth, but they seemed a little less organized then before. "We have the advantage this time," I said to Harkat. "We aren't freezing to death."

"And you have full use of your extra abilities," Harkat chuckled.

"I can't use them in front of Mr. Tiny," I reminded Harkat.

"And as I constantly remind you, how would he not know about them already?" Harkat questioned. "With all his power and knowledge it seems impossible."

"Why would he let us go then?" I countered.

"Why does Mr. Tiny do anything?" Harkat shot back.

"He is probably going to stick us in an impracticable situation that would certainly lead us to death and then save us. After that we will be suitably grateful and let him take us back," I said and dodged another pole that came out of nowhere.

Harkat snorted loudly. "That does sound like him. But I still think he knows."

"Well I'm going to take the chance that he doesn't," I said. The next street was thick with taxis and I disregarded the don't walk symbol flashing on the crosswalk and plunged headfirst into traffic. Taxis honked and I leapt over hoods, leaving handprint after handprint on the windows. I only stopped when I saw a black car pushing taxis out of the way, barreling toward us with a gun sticking out of the passenger side window. Then just beyond the car Mr. Tiny stepped out of a side street and stared at the black car. His fingers glowed and all four tires on the car blew out. I took off again, feeling his eyes rest heavily on my back until we went out of his field of view. Harkat got off my back and we ran at a slower pace. Non humans were watching our progress with bright eyes, and I could see a few of them urging us on, but always shrink back into the shadows when another black car zipped by.

"They are too afraid," Harkat yelled.

"If we get them to fight, Harrison's men don't stand a chance. Do you know how many werewolf packs are watching us now?"

"It's a bad idea," Harkat said.

I bared my fangs. "Mr. Tiny thinks our time with Harrison is going to turn us into sniveling pups. I for one would like to prove otherwise."

Harkat hesitated and then nodded.

I looked back at the black cars and a tendril of fear curled inside my stomach but I shoved it aside and stepped out into the street. Taxis swerved around us, but the black cars kept coming. And coming. Harkat stood beside me, back rigid. I could hear his harsh breathing, loud in the dead silence that had come over the street. When the cars were feet from us I jumped straight in the air, coming down onto the hood of one car. Harkat had leapt sideways and was chasing down another. I smashed the windshield and reached inside the car, knocking out the driver and snatching the gun in less then a second. Any fear I had previously felt was swept away in a wave of bloodlust. I snarled and leapt off the hood, ramming into the side of the car so hard it flipped onto its side and ground against the pavement. Another car hit the fallen one and spun in a wild circle, smashing off a pole and finally onto the sidewalk. A few werewolves gaped at us and I challenged them with my eyes, urging them to come and fight. One stepped forward but the other yanked him back into an alley.

"Shadow," a cool, brisk voice said pleasantly. "Its time to end the games, yes?" It wasn't Harrison but two of the nurses that had "tended" to Harkat and I at the hospital. In their hands they clutched cattle prods.

My feet froze to the street and I swallowed hard. My muscles had clamped up and I couldn't breathe, couldn't move to tell Harkat to run. Spots danced in front of my eyes and all I could see were the prods sparking as they came closer and closer. Out from behind one nurse back came the collar and then I was on my knees, head hanging down.

"You see Shadow, Harrison did break you," the nurses said in unison. "Look at you on your knees." They laughed and spark of anger filled me before vanishing.

Now I could see Harkat backed up against the car I had tipped over, his eyes wide with horror as another pair of nurses approached him. I twitched toward him, but couldn't get my legs to work. "No," I muttered. "No."

"Yes," crowed the nurses together. "Oh yes Shadow! You are coming back with us!" The collar clinked against the prods and their faces leered at me in triumph.

I swayed, trying to stay upright; I would not give them the delight of watching me faint. Under the illusions my wings were tucked as close to my back as I could get them and the dragon shivered on my chest, too scared to even move. Just like me. Shamed I lowered my head again and withdrew from the world, shutting down as quickly as I could to get away from the pain that was sure to hit in seconds. The collar hovered above my head and lowered toward my neck inch by inch until all I could see was the circle of metal with the cursed needle inside. One blow, one use of magic and both nurses and the dreaded collar would be destroyed, but I could not make my hands nor magic answer.

"A broken little dragon you are," a nurse purred in my ear. "Such a pity. Harrison expected much more fight out of you then this. But he underestimated his own skills I suppose." Then their voices faded away as I withdrew into myself completely, my eyes fluttering shut. But before I could completely go away another voice shattered the almost quiet, a voice so angry that entire armies would have turned around and fled. It was so loud that the onlookers clamped hands over the ears and the nurses winced, but it merely washed over me like a refreshing wave.  
>"STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" The voice howled and every window shattered, the ground shook and the nurses tormenting both Harkat and I were vaporized in a shockwave of crimson light, leaving the prods and collar to hover in the air before clattering to the ground.<p>

The collar hit my knees and rolled off. I flinched once; eyes locked onto it before a hand closed around the metal and lifted it up. The fingers glowed pale red, almost pink and I waited for them to latch the collar around my throat. But the metal started to melt instead, dripping onto the street where it sank into the concrete and vanished. When the last bit of metal was gone the hand wiped itself clean and tipped my head back, forcing my eyes to meet Mr. Tiny's. I flinched again, but blinked and shuddered, my muscles finally responding to my commands. I slumped backwards and brought my knees up to my chest, hugging them.

"Don't move," Mr. Tiny said and went to Harkat.

I had no intention of disobeying Mr. Tiny and watched dully as he stepped over debris to get to Harkat, crouching down next to him. Harkat curved away from him before nodding at whatever the magician said and grabbed onto his sleeve, following close as Mr. Tiny walked back over to me and lowered himself down. "I'm sorry," I said with a hoarse voice.

"I was in the wrong," Mr. Tiny said, shattering any notions I had about what I expected him to say. "I am not used to having others accompany me," Mr. Tiny explained, keeping his voice calm. "I do forget things that humans and vampires need. Taking you both with me was a snap decision."

'_Sure it was,' _ I thought sarcastically. "Uhuh,' I mumbled and jumped when Mr. Tiny patted me on the head.

"Now I will endeavor to take both your needs into consideration and halt unhelpful remarks if you two cease the charade that neither of you aren't affected by what happened," Mr. Tiny sounded stern but again the hint of something like concern in his voice made my stomach clench.

"Alright," I said cautiously. I wanted to believe with all my heart that Mr. Tiny truly cared and it wasn't just a clever manipulation, that somewhere the man I had come to care about still existed, but it was probably a futile hope.

"Ok," Harkat said.

"Now, let us go back to the tent and calm down," Mr. Tiny said and helped us upright. "We cannot miss the show tonight." He looked between us and again there was a flicker of worry, there and gone so fast I almost thought it wasn't truly there. "But I will work on solutions to your nightmares later tonight and in the morning." He snapped his fingers and the world blurred before we appeared back in the tent.

We stood outside the theater, Harkat standing as close to Mr. Tiny as he could and me almost directly behind him, holding onto a piece of his suit jacket. Both Harkat and I were still jumpy, but nowhere near as bad. Mr. Tiny had shoved food and drink (and blood in my case) onto us until we were both so full we couldn't protest much when he brought out heaps of board games I hadn't even seen in his tent before. Most of them were so complicated it distracted us from our fear and as the hours passed we calmed down to almost normalcy. When it was time to leave it took a bit of coaxing to hold onto him so he could spin us to a street next to the theater. I had the metal necklace back around my neck and its weight was comforting; the string was so long it occasionally brushed against the dragon. Harkat had a ring instead of a necklace and I had noted that there were far fewer runes engraved into his protection then mine.

"We have seats next to each other," Mr. Tiny said as we moved up in the line. "The Twins while nothing compared to me, are dangerous and may attempt to twist your minds if they figure out you are non humans." He pursed his lips and we shuffled forward a little more. "Previously I had intended to study them, but depending on how far gone they are killing them may be the only way." He paused to hand the attendant our tickets and resumed talking as we entered the cool theater. "The Twins are not naturals. Their magic comes from whatever cursed object they have acquired."

"Naturals?" I asked.

"There are two types of magicians," Mr. Tiny explained, shooting a keen look my way. "One type is like the Twins, drawing magic off an object. That usage comes with a heavy price of insanity. The other type is a natural, one who was born with magic or someone who awakens it later in life. Naturals are very, very rare." He rolled up his sleeve and I saw the tip of a red scaled tail before the sleeve came back down. "All naturals have a dragon adorning their skin, and the color usually reveals what element they are attuned to."

"You are fire then," I said.

"Indeed," Mr. Tiny said. "And you are very lucky to even catch a glimpse of the dragon. Most naturals are very protective of their dragon and rightly so. Until they reach an old age and are strong enough to protect it completely they can be violent towards anyone trying to make them show it off, even other naturals." He rubbed his arm. "The older the natural the stronger they are."

I resisted the urge to join in and touch the dragon that was half on my side, wrapped in a strange formation around my torso. "Oh," I said. "Are you the only one? Natural I mean."

"No, there is one other," Mr. Tiny said. "A female named Evanna."

I slyly sniffed the air as Mr. Tiny spoke and was pleased to find he wasn't lying. He didn't know about me yet. "Will we ever meet her?" I asked curiously. I was wondering if Mr. Tiny would ever take us to her. Evanna would probably see straight through me and see the illusions however. Mr. Tiny seemed to never look for things he thought weren't there.

"Perhaps," Mr. Tiny said enigmatically.

The line moved even further and finally we were being shown to our seats. They were surprisingly good; only three rows back from the stage and directly in the middle. The seats were comfortable, but had a strange tendency to lean back suddenly so I kept jerking upright. We had a few minutes until the show was supposed to start so I engaged Harkat in a hushed conversation that lasted until something that looked like smoke rose up from several rows of seats, including ours. The smoke poured out until the entire theater was covered in a grey haze. From the direction of the stage flashing lights of all colors moved around, forming odd shapes and then vanishing, only to reappear in a different spot. It was rather dizzying and I rubbed my eyes, trying to focus on anything up there. Harkat was having the same issue, but he was shielding his eyes to peer around the theater.

"_Illusion_," a voice purred and it sounded so close to my ear that I jumped and turned. But there was nothing there but another equally startled person. "_It dazzles the mind and fools the senses._" Now that I was listening harder I could tell that the voice was actually two people, speaking in perfect unison. "_Join us as we bend reality around a select few and bring dreams to life._" The Twins were speaking like I had at Harrisons, putting magic in their voices to weave a spell of compliancy around us. If it hadn't been for the necklace, I would already have been locked under it. _"Now we need two volunteers," _the Twins continued._ "A brave man and woman." _ From the crowd two hands waved and without orders the husband and wife stood up and walked up the isle past us. They looked completely blank and their steps were robotic, jerking slightly when they met a bump in the carpeted floor. When the pair reached the stage the smoke was blown away and I could finally see the Twins. The boy was dressed in a smart blue suit with a bowtie; his teeth were pearly white and exposed in a beaming childish smile. The girl had a green dress that flowed around her like water, and a pair of dance shoes. She wore an equally pleasant smile and the crowd ahhed around us. The Twins didn't look more then ten years old and in spite of everything, I doubted they were such a threat.

"Wonderful," the little girl giggled and clapped her hands. "Just wonderful! Step over here please on these two squares right here." She maneuvered the volunteers onto two carpet squares and turned to her twin brother, tapping her shoes on the ground. Her mannerisms were stuck between that of a young child and a middle aged woman, which was disturbing. Her eyes roamed the crowd, settling on people she obviously found interesting. Whenever her gaze threatened to go to our part of the crowd I lowered my eyes to my lap, pretending to be fiddling with a cell phone.

The brother rubbed his hands together and I blinked. A flash of black light enveloped his hands for a moment and then vanished into his sleeves. "What do you want most in the world?" He asked the couple, who were holding hands. For a moment he looked positively feral as he stared at the volunteers. He tapped his ear and the couple bent down to reach his tiny ear, whispering something into it. The boy paused momentarily and then the black light returned again, sliding up his hands like disgusting mud. Even untrained as I was I could feel the magic from where I sat and it felt dirty and plain wrong. "Sister do you want to do the honors or shall I?"

"You go right ahead," the other twin said politely. She flicked her brother on the nose. "I get to do the next round though!"

The brother stepped up to the volunteers and placed his hands close to their chests. The black light sank into their bodies and I had to grip the edges of my seat to stop0 myself from going up there and snatching the humans away. The air at the feet of the husband and wife shimmered and I gasped involuntarily. Three kids were sitting at their feet, looking up at the volunteers with giant smiles.

The woman put a hand to her mouth and tears shimmered in her eyes. "How did you know?" She asked. Her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulders and looked at the twins furiously. Neither of them seemed to appreciate the magic that had just happened.

"That is a cruel thing to do!" He shouted. "We can't have children!"

Both Twins looked apologetically at the floor and shook their heads. "We can't control what appears. I am so sorry."

The volunteers left the stage and were escorted out by attendants. The Twins looked surprised but they quickly reorganized themselves and walked up to the very edge of the stage. "We need one volunteer this time. A male, no older then forty." The girl studied the audience and her eyes rested on me like ten tons of brick.

My hand shot up of its own accord and my feet moved, carrying me past Harkat and Mr. Tiny, out onto the isle and up to the stage. Whatever magic had me only halted when I stood in front of the Twins, in front of everyone. I sent a look toward Mr. Tiny and he nodded; I could see one thumb glowing threateningly in the confines of his front pocket. Reassured I turned back to the Twins and they nudged me toward the carpet square. The girl approached me and placed a hand on my chest, looking deep into my eyes until I swayed.

"What do you want Darren Shan?" she asked smoothly. Her voice was impossible to resist and I leaned into it.

"To fly," I said longingly. "My wings."

The girl stiffened and then smiled winningly. Her hand glowed black and then a weight on my back made me look back. I knew it wasn't them, they were too shiny but seeing even a mockery of them was painful. A pair of feathered blue wings fluttered gently, spread out in front of the crowd, who gasped as one. I found I could even flex them myself and I did, sweeping them down and up like I would take off. They didn't have the power to hold me up, but I reveled in the feeling while it lasted.

The girl came up behind me, talking to my back so no one else could read her lips. "Darren Shan, we can give you everything. Come with us and those wings will be permanent. You will fly to the sun and back. That fat man you came with will not give you what you truly need."

I turned around and watched the girl hold out her hand, steadily walking backward. I shifted a step or two forward, reaching out a hand of my own to place in hers. But right before our palms touched a bright red light blinded me and I snapped my eyes shut. I felt the wings vanish and I let out a tiny sound of disappointment but I backpedaled from the Twins who were both facing me now and they looked a far cry different from the little, likeable children. Their faces were twisting into ugly, monstrous versions of themselves. The black magic was covering their entire bodies in a black smog; just as their eyes burned molten red I jumped off the stage, nearly falling onto the first row of seats. People were screaming and running toward the doors and I was trapped behind them as chairs jumped off the ground, flying toward the fleeing crowd. Chair legs hit people in the back at high speed and I couldn't see Harkat or Mr. Tiny as more people swelled up behind me, pushing me toward the doors that were refusing to open.

"DARREN SHAN!" The Twins howled in harmony and blasted aside another section of chairs, their eyes flitting over the humans.

I took the chance and looked back. Both of them were clutching what looked like small stones in their fists; I immediately started pushing back through the crowd. Those stones had to be the cursed objects giving them power. "I'm right here! Come and get me!" I shouted back.

The Twins whirled around and the black magic spread out from under their feet, stretching toward me like fingers. When the magic touched the crowd person after person fell clutching their chests in agony. But it when it reached me, the blackness stretching up my feet I stared resolutely at the Twins and did not react.

Every bit of magic I had was shielding me from the dark. If it wormed past my shields, my heart would burst. "Keep trying by all means," I said peevishly. I could see Mr. Tiny stalking behind the Twins, his face twisted with fury. In instant later I lowered my shields as his magic flowed over me. Then I charged the Twins, slamming into the boy at bone breaking speed. He cried out and we spun through the air, both fighting for control of the pebble. Our fingers scrabbled on its smooth surface and then it fell, skittering across the ground and under a pile of chairs. I lunged for it and closed my hand around the stone. The dark magic flowed on my hands, listening to see if I wanted it. For a moment I was tempted and then I wrenched my gaze away to stare at the male Twin.

He was on his knees, clutching his throat. "You can't…do…this…" he rasped. Behind him his sister was in a similar situation as Mr. Tiny held her stone above her head.

I hesitated then brought down the stone on the closest chair at the same time Mr. Tiny blew on the sister's stone. Both broke apart into a cloud of dust and the Twins screamed together. Their screams grew louder and louder until I clapped my hands over my ears. Mr. Tiny grabbed Harkat who had raised a chair above the pairs head and dragged him toward me, then clasped me around the middle and spun us away. We landed in a giant heap in the tent, breathing hard and I rolled off Mr. Tiny and Harkat. "What's going to happen to them?" I asked right away.

"Both will probably die from being ripped away from the magic," Mr. Tiny answered.

"They were just kids!" Harkat exploded.

"No. They used to be, but the moment they picked up those stones they were forever ruined," Mr. Tiny said.

I sighed heavily and brushed stone dust off my clothing. "What's done is done," I said softly.

Mr. Tiny nodded and moved into the kitchen where he poured a large glass of water and drained it. "Now, I do believe I promised to work on your nightmares. Stay awake if you want, or try to sleep it does not matter. I will see you later." He left for his room.

"I'm staying awake," I said right away.

"Me too," Harkat agreed and sat on the couch, flipping on the television.

I joined Harkat and he turned up the volume a few notches before turning to me. I had a moment of unexplainable worry before Harkat spoke, his words coming out so fast I almost couldn't understand him.

"Will you tell me about your magic?" Harkat begged, using the hum of the television to mask his words. "You are a natural, since you are nothing like those kids. I want to know so I can help you."

I dug my fingers into the soft couch and stared hard at Harkat, trying to sniff out if he had any doubts, or was being forced by Mr. Tiny at all. I saw nothing in him but his genuine want to help. "Fine," I said warily. "But don't expect me to show you my dragon."

Harkat grinned and leaned closer. "Of course I won't," he said pleased.

I smiled and opened my mouth, preparing to unload every bit of information I had, settling in for a long night.

* * *

><p><strong>R&amp;R please! <strong>


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